A 

YOUTH'S    HISTOKY 


OF 


THE  GREAT  CIVIL  ¥Aft 

IN  THE 

UNITED    STATES, 

PEOM   1861  TO  1865. 
BT    B.    G.    H  O  E  T  0  N. 

WITH   ILLUSTRATIONS 


SEVENTY-FIFTH   THOUSAND. 


NEW  YORK: 
VAN    EVKIE,    HORTON    &    CO,, 

No.   162  NASSAU   STREET, 

PEINTIHO  HOUSE  8QUAES. 

1868. 


H7 


Entered,  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1908,  by 

VAN  EVRIE,  HOKTON  &  CO, 

la  fte  Cleik'a  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  th« 
Southern  District  of  New  York. 


Stereotyped  by  SMITH  &  MoDouGAL,  84  Beekman  St.,  New  York. 


TO   THE    READER. 


THIS  book  has  been  written  in  the  cause  of  Truth.  It 
has  not  been  the  object  of  the  writer  to  defend  any  par 
ticular  party  or  faction,  but  solely  to  vindicate  demo 
cratic  and  republican  institutions. 

There  have,  in  all  ages,  been  really  but  two  parties  in ' 
politics.  One,  that  did  not  believe  in  the  people,  but 
wanted  a  strong  government  to  control  or  rule  them.  The 
other,  that  believed  in  the  people,  was  for  retaining  power 
in  their  hands  to  control  or  rule  the  government.  The 
former  is  the  Monarchical  or  Strong  Government  party. 
Its  members  were  called  Tories  in  the  Revolution  of  1776. 
The  latter  is  the  Democratic  party. 

I  shall  show  in  this  history  how  these  parties  origin 
ated  in  this  country,  and  who  led  them — that  Alexan 
der  Hamilton  was  the  leader  of  the  Tory  or  Monarch 
ical  party,  and  Thomas  Jefferson  of  the  Democratic 
party. 

I  shall  show  how.  this  Tory  party  has  always  been 
trying  to  subvert  our  Government,  because  it  was 
formed  on  the  democratic  principle. 

I  shall  show  that  finally,  after  being  defeated  in  every 
other  effort,  this  Tory  party  assumed  the  name  of  Re 
publican,  and  taking  advantage  of  a  popular  delusion 


936709 


iv  TO      THE      READER 

about  negroes,  used  it  to  get  into  power  and  accom 
plish  its  long  cherished  purposes. 

I  shall  show  that  Abraham  Lincoln  was  the  direct 
successor  of  old  John  Adams  and  his  infamous  Alien 
and  Sedition  laws,  only  that  Mr.  Lincoln  went  much 
further,  and  acted  much  worse  than  John  Adams  ever 
dared  to  do. 

I  shall  show  that  the  war  was  not  waged  "to  pre 
serve  the  Union,  or  to  maintain  republican  institutions," 
but  really  to  destroy  both,  and  that  every  dollar  spent, 
and  every  life  lost,  have  been  taken  by  the  Abolition 
ists  on  false  pretences. 

This  book  will  show  that  the  Abolition  or  so-called 
Republican  party  has  simply  carried  out  the  British 
free  negro  policy  on  this  Continent,  a  pet  measure  of 
\  all  the  kings  and  despots  of  Europe. 

In  order  to  reach  this  end,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  compelled 
to  assume  the  Dictatorship,  and  overthrow  the  govern 
ment  as  it  was  formed,  which  he  did  by  issuing  a 
military  Edict  or  Decree  changing  the  fundamental  law 
of  the  land,  and  declaring  that  he  would  maintain  this 
change  by  all  the  military  and  naval  power  of  the 
United  States. 

It  will  also  be  seen  that  the  war  has  changed  the 
entire  character  and  system  of  our  Government,  over 
thrown  the  ancient  rights  of  the  States,  and  forced  upon 
the  country  a  so-called  Amendment  to  the  Constitution, 
in  the  time  of  war,  and  against  the  free  and  unbiased 
action  of  the  people. 

This  book  also  contains  a  careful  and  impartial  nar 
rative  of  all  the  principal  events  of  the  war,  from  the 


TO      THE      READER.  f 

battle  of  Bull  Run  down  to  the  assassination  of  Abraham 
Lincoln,  and  the  capture  of  Jefferson  Davis. 

The  writer  believes  it  will  be  found  accurate  in  all 
respects,  and  in  most  cases  the  place  and  date  of  citation 
are  given,  so  that  no  one  can  have  a  chance  to  deny  their 
accuracy. 

The  book  is  given  to  the  Northern  people,  under  the 
confident  belief  that  they  did  not  intend  to  destroy  their 
government  by  the  war,  and  that  they  only  need   to 
understand  the  aims  and  objects  of  the  Tory,  Monarch-' 
ical  or  Abolition  party,  to  forever  hold  it  responsible  . 
for  all  the  sufferings  of  the  country. 

To  the  soldiers  of  the  Northern  armies,  who  were 
deluded  by  the  Abolitionists  into  believing  that  they 
were  fighting  to  preserve  republican  institutions,  the 
political  facts  of  this  volume  are  respectfully  com 
mended. 

TheJSouthern  people  who  fought  so  long  and  so  gal 
lantly  to  roll  back  the  tide  of  Abolitionism  that  has  en 
gulfed  them,  will,  the  writer  trusts,  find  in  this  volume 
encouragement  to  believe  that  Wrong  can  only  be  tem 
porarily  successful,  and  that  it  only  needs  faith  in  the 
power  of  the  press  to  yet  overthrow  the  Abolition  revo 
lutionists. 

Finally,  to  all  classes,  and  especially  to  the  young, 
this  little  volume  is  commended,  in  the  confident  hope 
and  belief  that  out  of  the  gloom  of  the  present  the 
grand  old  Union  of  Washington  and  Jefferson  will  yet 
arise,  and,  wiping  away  the  tears  and  blood  of  the  past, 
live  for  ages  to  cheer  mankind  with  its  blessing*. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  CAUSES  OF  THE  WAR.  PAG1 
The  Estrangement  between  the  North  and  the  South— When  it  began 
—The  Cause  of  it— Different  Ideas  of  Government— Hamilton  and 
Jefferson  the  former  a  Monarchist,  the  latter  a  Democrat— Their 
opposing  Ideas— Washington  Administration— The  Triumph  of 
the  Federalists  in  the  election  of  John  Adams — The  Alien  and 
Sedition  Laws— The  Despotism  of  the  Federalists— The  Virginia 
and  Kentucky  Resolutions— The  Triumph  of  Democracy  over 
Monarchical  Federalism  in  1800 l 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  CAUSES  OP  THE  WAR,  CONTINUED. 

Farther  Proofs  that  the  Troubles  come  from  different  Views  of  Gov 
ernment — Quotations  from  Mr.  Jefferson — Disunion  in  New  Eng 
land—A  new  Issue  sought  for— The  Negro  Question  seized  upon— 
The  Negro  in  Africa— His  Inferior  Position  there— The  Negro  not 
regarded  as  the  white  Man's  equal— The  Laws  of  Massachusetts— 
The  Crime  of  Mulattoism "« 

CHAPTER  III. 

CAUSES   OF  THE   WAR   CONTINUED. 

The  Missouri  Question— Mr.  Jefferson's  Warning— The  British  Spy 
Henry— Mr.  Madison  lays  the  Henry  Papers  before  Congress— 
The  design  of  the  British  Government  to  break  down  Democracy 
in  America— Testimony  of  Mr.  Aaron  Leggett— Toryism  and 
Federalism  the  same— The  Federalists  in  the  War  of  1812— The 
New  England  Clergy  declare  the  Declaration  of  Independence  "a 
wicked  thing" 34 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   CAUSES   OF   THE   WAR,    CONTINUED. 

Wte  Admission  of  Missouri— Other  Issues— The  Rise  of  Abolitionism 
—The  first  abolition  Paper,  by  Benj.  Lundy— The  Riots  in^New 
York — The  Danger  in  the  Question — The  North  not  acquainted 
with  Negroes— The  Negro  a  distinct  Race— Mr.  Jefferson's  Sugges 
tion — The  Case  illustrated — How  the  Government  was  formed — 
William  Lloyd  Garrison  for  its  overthrow— Wendell  Phillips  also 
—John  C.  Calhoun  and  Jefferson  Davis  for  its  Preservation-  -Ex 
tracts  from  Speeches  of •* 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

PAGB 

CHAPTER  Y 

THE   CAUSES  OF  THE  WAR,    CONTINUED. 

A  Change  in  the  abolition  Movement — The  Supporters  of  William  H. 
Seward  on  the  Scene— Mr.  Seward's  Position— The  Organization 
of  the  Seward  or  Black  Republican  Party — Its  Perversion  of  True 
Principles— A.  Change  of  the  abolition  Base 52 

CHAPTER   VI. 
THE   ELECTION   OF  LINCOLN. 

The  Growth  of  the  Black  Republican  Party — The  two  Factions  com 
posing  it— Its  Objects— Its  Endorsement  of  the  Helper  Book- 
Old  John  Brown's  Kansas  Raid— His  Virginia  Expedition— His 
Murder  of  the  Doyle  Family — The  Republican's  endorse  his 
bloody  Career— The  Nomination  of  Lincoln— The  Alarm  of  the 
Southern  People — The  Cunning  of  Lincoln  and  Seward 5T 

CHAPTER  VII. 

SECESSION. 

The  Election  of  Mr.  Lincoln— The  Chicago  Platform— What  Gid- 
dings  said  it  meant— The  Southern  States  resolve  to  secede— 
What  is  Secession? — Opinions  of  Josiah  Quincy,  Judge  Rawle, 
Mr.  Jefferson,  &c.,  upon  coercion— John  Quincy  Adams,  S.  P. 
Chase,  Lincoln,  Seward,  Edward  Everett,  Greeley  &c.,  &c.,  deny 
the  right  of  it— The  Question  of  the  Forts— The  South  did  not 
make  War  on  the  North— The  War  a  trick 65 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  POLICY   AND   OBJECT   OF   SECESSION. 

Opinion  in  the  Southern  S  bates— "What  General  Lee  says— What  the 
South  wanted — To  prevent  Negro  Equality,  Amalgamation,  &c. — 
Its  Effect  in  Mexico  and  the  West  India  Islands — The  Horrors  of 
a  mongrel  Nation — The  North  did  not  understand  what  the  South 
meant — The  Union  Issue — Abolition  verses  on  the  flag 76 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  BEGINNING  OF  SECESSION. 

The  Secession  of  South  Carolina— President  Buchanan's  Course— 
What  he  said  to  Congress — Mr.  Madison's  Opinion  of  Coercion — 
Andrew  Johnson  on  Coercion — The  South  wanted  Equality  in  the 
Union— Jefferson  Davis'  last  Speech  in  the  Senate,  Extract-from 
—The  Secession  of  the  other  States. 83 

CHAPTER  X. 
EFFORTS  OF  THE  DEMOCRACY  TO   SAVE  THE   UNION. 

The  Crittenden  Compromise — Earnest  Appeal  of  Mr.  Crittenden — 
Contemptuous  Course  of  the  Republicans— They  refuse  to  submit 
it  to  the  Vote  of  the  People — Senator  Douglns'  Plan — lie  chargfes 
the  Eepublicans  with  the  sole  Responsibility  of  the  Disagreement 
—The  Peace  Convention— The  Abolition  Efforts  to  prevent  any 
Settlement  there— Senator  Chandler,  of  Michigan,  wants  "  blood 
letting" — The  Democracy  fail  to  secure  Peace 81 


Vlli  CONTENTS. 

MM 

CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  FORMATION  OP  THE  NEW  CONFEDERACY. 
The  Southern  Delegates  meet  at  Montgomery— Jefferson  Davis  elected 
Provisional  President  and  Alexander  H.  Stephens  Vice-President 
— The  Confederate  Constitution — President  Davis's  Address— The 
Questions  at  Issue — The  Forts — To  whom  did  they  belong — The 
Right  of  a  State  to  defend  its  Citizens— The  Helper  Book  Pro 
gramme 91 

CHAPTER  XII. 
MR  LINCOLN'S  JOURNEY  TO  WASHINGTON  AND  INAUGURATION. 

The  Policy  of  Mr.  Lincoln — He  commences  his  Journey  to  Washing 
ton — His  Jokes  and  low  Stories — He  gives  no  Indication  of  his 
Policy — His  Escape  through  Baltimore  in  Disguise — His  Inaugu 
ration — An  armed  Guard  attends  him — His  Contempt  for  the  Su 
preme  Court — The  Selection  of  the  Endorsers  of  the  Helper  Book 
for  his  Cabinet — Ex-Govornor  Morehead's  Visit  to  Mr.  Lincoln — 
The  Character  of  Mr.  Lincoln— His  Origin 99 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

"THE  FIRST  GUN  OF  SUMTER" 

Confederate  Commissioners  in  Washington — Deception  of  Seward  and 
Lincoln— The  Fort  Sumter  Trick— Who  began  the  War  ?—  The 
Fleet  sent  to  Charleston — General  Beauregard  takes  Fort  Sumter 
— Joy  of  the  Abolitionists — The  Flag  Mania — The  Efforts  of  the 
Administration  to  get  up  an  Excitement — The  Success  of  Stage 
Tricks  in  getting  up  a  War 106 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
MR.  LINCOLN'S  FIRST  CALL  FOR  TROOPS. 

What  Excuse  he  gave  for  it — Its  Illegality — The  Joy  of  the  Abolition 
ists — The  Northern  Governors  all  respond  favorably — Those  of 
North  Carolina,  Kentucky,  Missouri,  and  Virginia  refuse — Vir 
ginia  now  secedes — Her  Announcement  to  the  World 115 

CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  RUSH   OF   TROOPS   TO  WASHINGTON. 

The  Massachusetts  Troops  on  their  way  through  New  York,  singing 
old  John  Brown,  &c. — Their  Reception  in  Baltimore — The  De 
struction  of  the  railroad  Bridges — Mr.  Lincoln  issues  a  Proclama 
tion  blockading  the  Southern  Ports — The  South  preparing  for  War 
—General  Lee  appointed  to  the  Command  of  the  Virginian  Troops 
— Harper's  Ferry  evacuated — Mr.  Lincoln  suspends  the  Habeas 
Corpus — The  Monarchical  Party  fairly  inaugurated 121 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  FIRST  GREAT  BATTLE. 

tie  Battle  of  Bethel— The  great  Battle  of  Bull  Run— The  Bravery  of 
Stonewall  Jackson— The  Defeat  of  McDowell— The  Stampede  for 
Washington — The  fran-tic  Confusion — The  Effect  in  the  North — 
General  Scott  denounced — General  McClellan  appointed  to  the 
Command — The  meeting  of  Congress  July  4th — What  Congress 
declared  the  War  to  be  for — The  Promises  of  Mr.  Lincoln  and 
Congress 121 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER 

THE    CAMPAIGN    IN    THE    WEST. 

Citizens  of  St.  Louis  shot  down  —  Governor  Jackson  and  the  State 
Militia—  The  Skirmish  at  Boon  sville—  The  Battle  of  Carthage  and 
of  Wilson's  Creek  —  Death  of  General  Lyon  —  Generals  MCulloch 
and  Price  —  Price  captures  Lexington—  General  Fremont  appointed 
to  the  Command  —  His  ridiculous  Parade  —  General  Price  retreats 
to  Neosho  —  The  State  secedes  —  Terrible  Condition  of  Missouri  — 
Fremont's  Scheme  of  a  German  Empire  in  the  West  —  His  Extra 
vagance  and  Incompetency  —  Mr.  Lincoln  removes  him  ..........  13t 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

CAMPAIGN  IN  WESTERN  VIRGINIA  AND  BATTLE  OF  LEESBURG. 
The  Battle  of  Rich  Mountain  —  General  Floyd's  Campaign  —  Rosecrans1 
Success  —  Death  of  General  Garnett  —  The  Destruction  of  Guyan- 
dotte  —  General  McClellan  Drilling  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  — 
The  Battle  of  Leesburg  —  Death  of  Colonel  Baker  —  Arrest  of  Gen 
eral  Stone  —  An  Incident.  —  Two  Brothers  on  opposite  sides.  .  .  148 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

CAMPAIGN    IN    KENTUCKY. 

Kentucky's  Neutrality  —  Lincoln  broke  it  —  The  Arrest  of  Governor 
Morehead  —  Other  Arrests  contemplated  —  Escape  of  Breckinridge 
and  others  —  Peaceful  Citizens  driven  from  their  Homes  —  Gene 
ral  Polk  at  Columbus  —  The  Battle  of  Belmont  —  Defeat  of  General 
Grant  —  The  Secession  Convention  in  Kentucky  —  The  Arrest  of 
Mason  and  Slidell—  The  Back  Down  of  Lincoln  and  Seward  .....  4* 

CHAPTER   XX. 

CLOSING  EVENTS  OF  1861,  AND  THE  BEGINNING  OF  1862. 
The  Expedition  to  Hatteras  Inlet—  The  Capture  of  Port  Eoyal—  Bill] 
Wilson's  regiment  at  Santa  Rosa  Island  —  The  Confederates  ii 
Kentucky—  The  Battle  of  Mill  Spring—  Death  of  General  Zolli 
coffer—  General  Grant  takes  Fort  Henry—  The  Battle  of  Foi 
Donelson  —  Its  Surrender  —  The  Evacuation  of  Nashville  —  The  E* 
ploits  of  GeneralJohn  H.  Morgan  .........................  ^166 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE   BATTLES   OF   SHILOH   AND   PITTSBURG   LANDING. 

Movements  in  the  West—  The  Capture  of  Island  No.  10—  The  Battle 

of  Shiloh  —  Defeat  of  General  Grant  on  the  First  Day  —  He  is  Re 

inforced  by  General  Buell—  The  Second  Day's  Battle—  Death  of 

General  Albert  Sidney  Johnston  —  The   Confederates  fall  back 

*        but  arc  not  pursued  —  General  Pope's  Swagger  .................  1T8 

CHAPTER    XXII. 

THE  FALL  OF  NEW  ORLEANS  —  "  BUTLER  THE  BEAST." 
EVig-officer  Farragut's  Bombardment  of  Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Phil 
lip  —  He  at  last  runs  by  them  —  The  City  Evacuated  by  General 
Lovell  —  Mayor  Monroe  refuses  to  haul  down  the  State  Flag  — 
General  Ben.  Butler  takes  possession  of  the  City  —  He  plunders 
the  private  citizens  —  He  digs  up  the  dead  —  Imprisons  Women  — 
Hangs  Wm.  B.  Mnmford  —  Receives  the  title  of  "  Beast  Butler".  180 


X  CONTENTS. 

FAOfl 

CHAPTER  XXII I 

STONEWALL  JACKSON  IN  THE  SHENANDOAH  VALLEY. 
Jackson's  Habits — What  his  Negro  servant  said — His  Personal  Ap 
pearance — His  Conversation — How  he  fired  a  cannon — Battle  of 
Kearnstown — General  Jackson  forced  to  retreat — General  Shields 
Wounded — His  return  to  Washington  and  resignation — What  he 
heard  Sunnier  say  about  the  War — The  Removal  of  all  Generals 
cot  favorable  to  the  Abolitionists 186 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

EMBARCATION  OF  THE  ARMY  OP  THE  POTOMAC. 
Mr.  Lincoln's  Plans — General  McClellan  opposed  to  them — Mr.  Lin 
coln  does  not  support  McClellan— The  Army  of  the  Potomac 
reaches  the  Peninsula — General  McDowell's  Corps  fails  to  rein 
force  McClellan — Yorktown  Evacuated  by  the  Confederates — Bat 
tle  of  Williamsburg— General  Hooker  badly  wounded— The 
Death  of  Colonel  Lomax  of  Miss. — His  Body  recovered  by  his 
negro  servant — The  Negroes  aiding  the  Confederate  Armies.. ..  193 

CHAPTER    XXV. 

DOINGS   OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON   IN   THE   SHENANDOAH  VALLEY. 

General  McClellan's  position  growing  critical — General  McDowell 
ordered  to  join  him — Stonewall  Jackson  makes  a  counter  move 
ment — General  Milroy  defeated — General  Banks  defeated — His 
remarkable  run  down  the  Valley — Fremont  —  The  Battles  of 
Cross  Keys  and  Port  Republic — Stonewall  Jackson  makes  his 
reputation 200 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

BATTLE  OF  FAIR  OAKS  AND  GAINES'S  MILLS. 
The  attack  of  General  D.  H.  Hill— General  Joseph  E.  Johnston 
wounded — The  result  a  Confederate  victory — General  Lee  ap 
pointed  to  the  Command — He  deceives  McClellan  by  pretending 
to  reinforce  Jackson  in  the  Valley — Jackson  really  marching  to 
aid  in  the  defence  of  Richmond — Attack  on  General  Fitz  John 
Porter's  Corps— A  Repulse— The  Battle  of  Games'  Mills— Final 
Charge  of  the  Texas  Brigade— Results  of  the  Battle— McClellan 
Compelled  to  retreat  to  the  James  River 206 

CHAPTER   XXVH. 
MCCLELLAN'S  RETREAT. 

Movement  to  the  James  River — Lee  vigorously  pressing  the  Federal 
Army — The  engagements  at  Savage's  Station  and  Frazier's 
Farm — Amusing  conversation  of  an  old  darkey — His  idea  of  the 
War— Can't  fool  him— The  Battle  of  Malvern  Hill— Terrible 
Slaughter— An  incident— Death  of  Major  Peyton 214 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

THE  INAUGURATION  OF  A   REIGN  OF  PLUNDER  AND  ARSON. 

Mr.  Lincoln  calls  for  300,000  more  Soldiers— The  Order  for  Plunder 

from  Washington — General  John  Pope  given  a  Command— How 

he  inaugurated  his  Campaign  —  General  McClellan   denounces 

Marauding  —  Hia   Idea  of   the  War— General   Halleck's  brutal 


CONTENTS. 


threat — Wbpt  Governor  Stone  of  Iowa  said — The  Mask  of  Conser 
vatism  still  i  etained  by  Lincoln  and  Se ward 221 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

THE  SECOND  BATTLE  OF  MANASSAS — BULL  RUN. 
General  Jackson's  attack  upon  General  Banks,  at  Cedar  Mountain — 
Death  of  General  C.  H.  Winder — General  Banks  whipped  again — 
Rapid  march  of  General  Jackson — The  Flight  of  Pope — He  rallies 
his  Troops — Attacks  Jackson — General  Lee  comes  upon  Pope — 
Put  to  Flight  again— His  Army  routed— Terrible  Losses— End  of 
poor  Pope 22S 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

LEE  IN  MARYLAND — BATTLE  OP  ANTIETAM. 
March  of  Lee  into  Maryland — Jackson  takes  Harper's  Ferry — Greal 
Excitement  in  Washington — General  McClellan  given  Command 
of  the  Army— Battle  of  Boonsboro— The  Battle  of  Antietam— 
Great  Slaughter — A  drawn  Battle — Lee  recrosses  the  Potomac — 
McClellan  is  repulsed — Is  removed  from  Command — General 
Burnside  put  in  his  place— The  great  mistake  of  McClellan— Mr. 
Lincoln  on  the  Battle-field  of  Antietam — An  Incident 235 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

BLOODY  DOINGS  IN  THE   WEST. 

Battle  of  Richmond,  Ky. — Confederate  Raids  through  Kentucky — 
General  Kirby  Smith  occupies  Lexington — General  Bragg  at 
Mumfordsville — The  Abolitionists  defeated — Bragg  evacuates  Ken 
tucky — Unhappy  Condition  of  Kentucky  and  Missouri — Battle  of 
Corinth — Horrible  Murder  of  ten  men  by  the  Monster  McNeil,  of 
Lexington,  Mo 243 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

GENERAL  BURNSIDE'S  BLOODY  CAMPAIGN. 
u  On  to  Richmond"  again — General  Burnside  changes  Base —  He 
crosses  the  River  at  Fredericksburg— The  Terrible  Slaughter  of 
his  Troops — Awful  Scenes  in  Fredericksburg — Condition  of  Burn- 
side's  Army  —  Burnside  in  a  rage  at  his  failure — He  removes 
several  Generals — Is  relieved  of  Command — General  Jo.  Hooker 
put  in  his  place 260 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 
MR.  LINCOLN'S  CAMPAIGN  IN  THE  NORTH. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  Suppression  of  Democratic  Newspapers — The  mobbing 
of  Democratic  Newspapers — What  a  mob  got  in  Catskill,  N.  Y. — 
Arbitrary  Arrests — Women  arrested — Secret  Circulars  in  New 
York  City— Arrest  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stuart  in  Alexandria,  Va.— 
Seizure  of  the  Rev.  J.  D.  Benedict — The  Police  of  New  York- 
Superintendent  Kennedy  as  Provost  Marshal — Cell  No.  4 — Beys 
arrested  and  sent  to  Fort  Lafayette — The  Arrest  of  the  Messrs. 
Flanders — The  Malone  Gazette,  edited  by  the  Wife  of  the  Im 
prisoned  Editor— Horrible  Condition  of  Fort  Lafayette— Arrests 
for  no  Causes  and  for  trrial  Excuses — Effects  of  Mr.  Lincoln's 
Policy 281 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

PA91 

CHAPTER  XXXIV 

THE  BATTLE  OF  MURFREESBORO — DOINGS  IN  THE  WEST. 
General  Bragg  attacks  Rosecrans — The  Confederates  Successful  on 
the  first  Day — Loss  heavy — The  next  Day,  Bragg  retreats  to  Tul- 
lahoma — Confederate  Success  at  Galveston — The  Siege  of  Vicks- 
burg — Attack  on  Port  Hudson — A  religious  Darkey  in  a  Fight — 
Amusing  Account  of  his  Heroism — Uncle  Pompey  quoting  Scrip 
ture ..  27t 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

GENERAL  HOOKER'S  CAMPAIGN. 

Another  "  on  to  Richmond" — General  Hooker  crosses  the  Rappahan- 
nock— The  Battle  of  Chancellorville— The  Flank  Movement  of 
Stonewall  Jackson — The  Flight  of  Hooker's  Troops — The  Deatt 
of  Jackson — Hooker  compelled  to  retreat — Falls  back  towards 
Washington — General  Meade  appointed  to  succeed  him — General 
Lee  marches  northward — Goes  into  Pennsylvania — Panic  of  the 
people — The  Battle  of  Gettysburg — General  Lee  repulsed — He 
falls  back  and  crosses  the  Potomac  in  safety 276 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

THE  SIEGE  OF  VICKSBURG. 

General  Sherman's  Repulse — General  Grant  Succeeds  Him — He  tries 
to  turn  the  Mississippi — Tries  a  Flank  Movement — Admiral  Por 
ter  runs  by  the  Batteries — Porter  attacks  Grand  Gulf  and  is  re 
pulsed — Grant  reaches  Port  Gibson — Defeat  of  the  Confederates — 
General  Joe  Johnston  tries  to  oppose  him — Capture  of  Jackson — 
General  Pemberton  hemmed  in — The  Siege  of  Vicksburg — Terri 
ble  repulse  of  Grant's  assaulting  column — The  Confederates 
forced  to  surrender — Great  Loss  to  the  South — Port  Hudson  also 
surrendered — The  Mississippi  River  open — Outrages  on  private 
property — Negroes  driven  from  Plantations — Terrible  outrage 
on  a  family  —  They  are  robbed  of  everything  —  Death  of  the 
Lady  and  her  Child 284 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

THE   NAVAL  DEFEAT    OFF   CHARLESTON — GILLMORE'S  REPULSE. 
Grand  attempt  to  take  Charleston— Admiral  Dupont  defeated— Gen 
eral  Gillmore  lays  Siege — His  "  swamp  Angel" — He  throws  Shot 
and  Shell  into  the  City — Bombardment  of  Sumter — Admiral  Dahl- 
gren  tries  to  take  it— Is  terribly  repulsed 292 

CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 
GEN.  MORGAN'S  RAID  INTO  THE  WEST — CHICKAMAUGA 

General  Morgan  moves  into  Ohio  and  Indiana — He  is  Captured — Pit 
into  Ohio  Penitentiary— Digs  his  way  out  with  penknives— The 
Battle  of  Chickamauga — General  Rosecrans  badly  defeated — He 
is  removed  from  command — General  Grant  assumes  command — 
Battle  of  Missionary  Ridge— Bragg  is  Defeated— Skirmish  between 
Lee  and  Meade  in  Virginia — Naval  Confederate  Victory  at  Sabine 
Post  —  General  Price  driven  out  of  Missouri — Congress  makes 
Grant  Lieutenant-General . . .  291 


CONTENTS.  xiii 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

THE  CONFEDERATE  NAVY  AND  PRIVATEERS. 
The  Commission  of  Privateers— The  Sinking  of  the  Cumberland  ty 
the  Virginia— Her  fight  with  the  Monitor— The  Sumter— Florida- 
Alabama — Georgia — Fight  of  the  Alabama  and  Kearsarge— The 
Confederate  Earns— Their  seizure— The  reason  of  it— The  Aboli 
tion  Policy  popular  with  the  Monarchists 303 

CHAPTER  XL. 

EVENTS   IN   THE    NORTH   IN   1863. 

•Emancipation  Proclamation"— Its  Effect— Arming  Negroes— Flags 
to  Negro  Regiments — Letters  from  Soldiers — Dissatisfaction  in  the 
Army — Connecticut  Election — General  Burnside  in  the  West — Ar 
rest  of  the  Hon.  C.  L.  Vallandigham— Kentucky  Election— Mob 
bing  Democratic  Newspapers — Killing  of  Mr.  Bollmeyer — Chicago 
Times  suppressed  —  Mr.  Lincoln  backs  down — "The  Sons  of 
Liberty11— -The  New  York  Riots— Hanging  of  Negroes— The  Draft 
Stopped — Alleged  Cruelty  to  Federal  Prisoners — Confederate 
Prisoners— The  object  of  the  Abolitionists 301 

CHAPTER    XLI. 

THE   OPENING   EVENTS    OF    1864. 

General  Sherman's  Expedition  towards  Mobile — Its  Failure — The  De 
feat  at  Olustee,  Florida — General  Banks'  Red  River  Expedition — 
General  Forrest  in  Kentucky— John  S.  Mosby— Kilpatrick's  Raid 
on  Richmond— Death  of  Ulric  Dahlgren— The  object  of  the  raid— 
The  Papers  found  on  Dahlgren — The  evidence  of  their  authen 
ticity— How  Abolitionism  brutifies  Mankind 321 

CHAPTER   XLII. 

GEN.   GRANT'S  "ON  TO    RICHMOND." 

General  Grant  starts  for  Richmond— The  Battles  of  the  "Wilderness 
and  Spottsylvania  Court  House — Terrible  Slaughter — Movement 
to  the  North  Anna  River— Battle  of  Cold  Harbor— March  to  the 
James  River — Attempt  to  take  Petersburg — The  Result  of  Grant's 
"  Hammering"— The  Implosion  of 'the  Mine— Grant  suspends  Of 
fensive  Operations — Hunter's  Raid  on  Lynchburg — General  Early 
Crosses  into  Maryland — Defeat  of  General  Lew.  Wallace  at  Mo- 
nocacy— Sheridan  sent  to  the  Shenandoah  Valley— He  Defeats 
Early— Utter  devastation  of  the  Valley 323 

CHAPTER  XLIII. 
SHERMAN'S  "ON  TO  ATLANTA." 

The  Movement  from  Ringgold — The  Battles  of  Resaca  and  Kenesaw — 
Death  of  General  Polk — The  complaints  against  General  John 
ston — His  removal  from  Command — General  Hood  appointed  in 
his  place — The  Battles  before  Atlanta — General  Hood  evacuates 
the  City  —  Sherman's  cruelties — His  depopulation  and  destruc 
tion  of  Atlanta — General  Hood  tries  a  flank  movement — Starts 
for  Chattanooga  and  Nashville— The  Battles  of  Franklin— Hood 
Defeated  before  Nashville  and  Retreats. . .  ....  840 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

PAG1 

CHAPTER  XLIY. 

THE  PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTION  AND  OTHER  EVENTS  OP  1864 
The  Conspiracy  successful — The  Government  centralized — Mr.  Lin 
cola's  Administration — Its  shameless  extravagance  and  corrup 
tion—Congressional  Report  thereon— The  Party  of  "Moral 
Ideas" — Mr.  Lincoln  Re-nominated  by  the  Abolitionists — General 
McClellau  Nominated  by  the  Democrats — No  Fair  Elections  Al 
lowed — General  Butler  Sent  to  New  York — His  "Campaign" 
there— Mr.  Lincoln  "  Re-elected"— Attack  on  Mobile— Butler's 
Expedition  to  Eort  Fisher 347 

CHAPTER  XLY. 
GEN.  SHERMAN'S  MARCH  TO  SAVANNAH  AND  GOLDSBORO 

Sherman's  start  from  Atlanta— His  Destruction  of  the  City— General 
Foster  at  Port  Royal — Capture  of  Fort  McAllister — Sherman's  De 
vastations —  Evacuation  of  Savannah — Sherman  Resumes  his 
March — Burning  of  Columbia — Horrible  Scenes — Who  is  Respon 
sible  ?  —  General  Hampton's  Letter  —  Sherman's  Foragers  and 
his  Threats— General  Hampton's  Reply— Sherman's  Swath  of  Fire  364 

CHAPTER  XLYI. 

•  EVENTS  OF  1865 — GENEEAL  LEE'S  SURRENDER, 
General  Terry's  capture  of  Fort  Fisher — Fall  of  Wilmington  and 
Charleston — Efforts  for  Peace — Meeting  at  Fortress  Monroe — Its 
Failure — General  Lee's  Weakness — His  attack  on  Fort  Steadman 
—Evacuation  of  Richmond — The  Confederate  Government  moves 
to  Danville — Mistake  as  to  Supplies — Lee's  Troops  wanting  Food 
—Sheridan's  attack — Surrender  of  Lee's  Army — Affecting  Scenes 
— Surrender  of  General  Johnston — The  Terms  rejected — Mobile 
Captured— Surrender  of  Kirby  Smith— The  last  Fight  at  Brazos, 
Texas — Victory  of  the  Confederates 363 

CHAPTER  XLVIL 

THE   ASASSINATION   OF   MR.  LINCOLN. 

The  War  ended — What  now?  — Mr.  Lincoln's  broken  Pledges — He 
goes  to  Richmond — His  Interview  with  Judge  Campbell— His 
Agreement  to  allow  the  Virginia  Legislature  to  meet — Breaks  his 
Promise — He  is  shot  by  John  Wilkes  Booth — Mr.  Seward  also 
attacked — Fearful  Excitement — Mr.  Lincoln's  Funeral — Booth,  hia 
Capture — His  Body  mutilated — Trial  of  his  Confederates — The 
Court  illegal — Singular  Fact  in  Relation  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  Death..  871 

CHAPTER  XLYIII. 

THE  CAPTURE  OF  JEFFERSON  DAVIS. 

Mr.  Davis  moves  Southward — He  joins  his  family — Captured  by  CoL 
Pritchard — Falsehood  as  to  his  Dress — He  is  taken  to  Savannah, 
and  thence  to  Fortress  Monroe — Put  in  solitary  Confinement — Is 
shackled— Still  denied  a  Trial— The  Union  yet  to  be  restored— 
Trust  in  God.... 881 


YOUTH'S  HISTORY 

OP 

THE    GREAT    CIVIL  WAR. 


CHAPTEB  I. 

THE    CAUSES   OF   THE   WAE. 

MANY  histories  of  THE  GREAT  WAR  through,  which 
we  have  just  passed  have  already  been  written,  but 
they  are  not  such  as  convey  to  the  youth  of  our 
land  a  full  and  true  account  of  the  causes  which 
led  to  it,  who  were  the  real  authors  of  it,  and  what 
were  its  objects  and  purposes.  To  understand 
fully  the  causes  which  produced  it,  we  must  go 
back  a  good  ways  in  the  history  of  our  country. 

Whatever  produced  a  feeling  of  enmity  and  es 
trangement  between  the  Southern  and.  Northern 
States  must  be  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  causes 
leading  to  the  war.  This  feeling  of  hostility  be 
tween  the  two  sections  began  to  show  itself  at  a 
very  early  period,  soon  after  the  formation  of  the 
Union,  almost  a  hundred  years  ago.  We  may  say 
it  began,  in  the  first  place,  in  the  different  political 
opinions  held  by  the  leading  men  of  the  North  and 
the  South. 

This  difference  was  indeed  very  great.  It  may 
be  understood  by  briefly  reviewing  the  different 
sentiments  entertained  by  Alexander  Hamilton  and 


16  THE   CAUSES    OF   THE    WAR. 

Thomas  Jefferson.  Hamilton  was  the  idol  of  what 
may  be  termed  the  New  England  or  Monarchical 
party,  and  Jefferson  was  equally  the  idol  of  the 
Southern  or  Democratic  party.  There  were  many 
individuals  in  the  North  who  followed  Jefferson, 
as  there  were  some  in  the  South  who  adopted  the 
principles  of  Hamilton,  but  the  prevailing  senti 
ment  of  the  North  was  with  Hamilton,  as  that  of 
the  South  was  with  Jefferson. 

V  Hamilton  was  a  monarchist.  That  is,  he  wanted 
to  establish  in  this  country  a  government  that 
should  be,  in  everything  but  its  name,  a  kingdom 
instead  of  a  republic.  There  is  abundant  proof  of 
this  fact. 

Luther  Martin,  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
statesmen  in  the  convention  that  made  our  consti- 
tion,  speaking  of  the  Hamilton  party  in  that  body 
said  :  "  There  was  one  party,  whose  object  and 
wish  was  to  abolish  and  annihilate  all  the  State 
governments,  and  bring  forward  one  general  gov 
ernment,  over  all  this  extended  continent,  of  a 
monarchical  nature." 

In  many  places  in  the  letters  and  writings  of 
Jefferson  we  find  that  great  statesman  and  pure 
patriot  alluding,  with  just  condemnation,  to  these 
monarchical  doctrines  of  Hamilton.  He  and  Ham 
ilton  were  in  Washington's  Cabinet  together  ;  and 
thirty  years  afterwards,  while  calmly  reviewing  the 
opinions  of  Hamilton,  he  says  :  "  Hamilton  was 
not  only  a  monarchist,  bufc  for  a  monarchy  bot 
tomed  on  corruption." 

In  another  place  he  says  :   "  Hamilton  declared 


THE   CAUSES    OF   THE   WAE.  17 

openly  that  there  was  no  stability,  no  security,  in 
any  kind  of  government  but  a  monarchy."  Again 
he  assures  us  that  even  while  Hamilton  was  in 
Washington's  Cabinet  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
he  declared  :  "  For  my  part,  I  avow  myself  a  mon 
archist.  I  have  no  objection  to  a  trial  of  this  thing 
called  a  republic,  but,"  etc.,  etc. 

At  the  date  of  August  13th,  1791,  Mr.  Hamilton 
had  a  conversation  with  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  which  he 
said  :  "  I  own  it  is  my  opinion,  though  I  do  not 
publish  it  in  Dan  or  Beersheba,  that  the  present 
government  is  not  that  which  will  answer,  and  that 
it  will  be  found  expedient  to  go  into  the  British 
form."  That  is,  to  become  a  monarchy.  This  lan 
guage  was  uttered  by  Hamilton  three  years  after 
our  present  Constitution  had  been  adopted.  He 
was  then,  as  we  have  said,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
under  President  Washington. 

Washington  hearing,  from  various  sources,  that 
his  Secretary  had  avowed  such  shameless  senti 
ments,  wrote  him  a  letter,  July  29th,  1792,  asking 
for  an  explanation  of  these  rumors.  About  a 
month  after  Hamilton  received  this  letter,  that  is, 
on  August  16th,  he  wrote  a  complaining  kind  of 
letter  to  Mr.  Adams  on  the  subject,  in  which  he 
said :  "All  the  persons  I  meet  are  prosperous  and 
happy,  and  yet  most  of  them,  including  the  friends 
of  the  Government  (i.  e.  of  Washington's  Adminis 
tration)  appear  to  be  much  alarmed  at  a  supposed 
system  of  policy  tending  to  subvert  the  Eepubli- 
can  Government  of  the  country." 

But,  not  only  the  friends  of  Washington's  Ad- 


18  THE    CAUSES    OF    THE    WAR. 

ministration  were  alarmed,  but  the  alarm  was 
shared  by  Washington  himself.  It  was  under  the 
pressure  of  this  very  alarm,  for  the  honor  of  some 
members  of  his  Cabinet  that  Washington  said  : 
"Those  who  lean  to  a  monarchical  government^ 
have  either  not  consulted  the  public  mind,  or  they 
live  in  a  region  which  is  much  more  productive  of 
monarchical  ideas  than  is  the  case  with  the  South 
ern  States."  - 

Washington,  like  Jefferson,  was  a  Virginian,  and 
had  no  sympathy  with  the  monarchical  principles 
of  Hamilton  and  his  followers.  Washington  well 
intimates  that  these  treasonous  principles  had  no 
friends  "  in  the  Southern  States."  The  statesmen 
of  the  South,  with  scarcely  an  exception,  were  for 
a  republican  form  of  government,  while  the  friends 
of  the  monarchical  principle  were  mostly  confined 
to  the  Eastern  States. 

So  you  see  that  as  early  as  1790  there  was  a 
great  difference  growing  up  between  the  leading 
statesmen  of  the  North  and  South,  on  the  subject 
of  government.  Indeed  we  may  go  back  three 
years  further,  and  find  these  very  parties  existing 
in  the  convention  that  formed  the  Constitution. 
There  we  find  what  we  may  call  the  Jeffersonian 
and  the  Hamiltonian  parties  pitted  against  each 
other.  The  one,  in  favor  of  a  government  of  the 
people,  with  powers  cautiously  limited  and  clearly 
defined  in  the  Constitution.  The  other,  in  favor 
of  what  they  called  "  a  strong  government/'  with 
similar  powers  to  a  monarchy,  without  its  name. 
We  may  say  that  the  Jeffersonian  idea  was,  thai 


THE   CAUSES    OF   THE   WAR.  19 

the  people  are  the  masters  of  the  government 
while  the  Hamiltonian  idea  was  that  the  govern 
ment  is  the  master  of  the  people.  The  conflict  be 
tween  these  opposing  ideas  caused  all  the  debates 
in  the  Constitutional  Convention.  But  finally 
the  Jeffersonian,  or  the  anti-monarchical  party, 
triumphed  in  the  production  of  a  democratic  con 
stitution.  The  great  disappointment  which  this 
result  gave  to  Mr.  Hamilton,  may  be  seen  in  a  let 
ter  which  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Morris,  Feb.  27th,  1802, 
where  he  says  :  "  Mine  is  an  odd  destiny.  Per 
haps  no  man  in  the  United  States  has  sacrificed  or 
done  more  for  the  present  Constitution  than  my 
self,  and  contrary  to  all  my  anticipations  of  its 
fate,  as  you  know  from  the  beginning,  I  am  still 
laboring  to  prop  the  frail  and  worthless  fabric  ;  yet 
I  have  the  murmurs  of  its  friends  no  less  than  the 
curses  of  its  foes,  for  my  reward.  What  can  I  do 
better  than  withdraw  from  the  scene  ?  Every  daj 
proves  to  me  more  and?  more  that  this  Americar 
world  was  not  made  for  me." 

In  the  above  extract  we  find  Mr.  Hamilton  cha 
racterizing  the  Constitution  of  his  country  as  "  a 
frail  and  worthless  fabric,"  and  bitterly  threaten' 
ing  to  abandon  his  country  forever.  This  was  af 
ter  the  Constitution  had  been  in  operation  four 
teen  years.  His  experience  had  certainly  been  a 
very  hard  one  for  a  man  of  his  political  principles, 
He  was  an  avowed  monarchist.  But  his  country 
men  had,  notwithstanding  his  earnest  labors  to 
the  contrary,  established  a  democratic  Constitu 
tion.  Failing  in  getting  his  principles  incorpo- 


20  THE   CAUSES    OF   THE    WAK. 

rated  into  the  Constitution,  he  next  tried,  as  a 
leading  member  of  Washington's  Cabinet,  to  give  a 
monarchical  interpretation  to  a  democratic  consti 
tution.  This  conduct  on  his  part  produced  a  mur 
mur  among  the  people,  and  caused  the  letter  of 
inquiry  from  Washington  above  referred  to.  His 
disheartened  and  peevish  letter  to  Mr.  Morris, 
from  which  I  have  given  an  extract  above,  waa 
written  two  years  after  the  election  of  Mr.  Jef 
ferson  to  the  Presidency,  which  event  certainly 
seemed  to  give  a  finishing  blow  to  the  Hamiltonian 
ideas  of  government  in  the  United  States.  His 
party  had  made  a  desperate  effort  to  subvert  the 
Constitution  under  the  presidency  of  John  Adams, 
which  was  terminated  by  the  election  of  Jefferson 
in  1800. 

General  Washington  served  his  country  as 
President  eight  years,  when  John  Adams  was 
elected  to  succeed  him  in  that  high  office.  During 
Washington's  term  the  Hamiltonians,  who  called 
themselves  "Federalists,"  and  who  embraced  a 
great  majority  of  the  men  of  wealth  and  high  so 
cial  position  in  the  Northern  States,  were  not  per 
mitted  to  make  any  visible  headway  in  subverting 
the  Constitution.  The  overshadowing  popularity 
of  Washington  kept  down  everything  like  the  am 
bition  of  cliques  and  sections.  But  no  sooner  was 
his  Presidency  at  an  end,  than  the  "  Federalists," 
the  enemies  of  the  democratic  principle  of  govern 
ment,,  showed  the  cloven  foot  of  monarchism 
again,  and  nearly  every  safeguard  which  the  Con 
stitution  throws  around  the  liberty  of  the  people, 


THE    CAUSES    OP   THE    WAR.  21 

was  disregarded  and  overthrown.  Then  it  waa 
that  the  antagonism  between  the  political  princi 
ples  of  the  leading  statesmen  of  the  North  and  the 
South  assumed  a  tolerably  well  denned  shape  in 
the  division  of  parties.  Adams  was  originally  a 
democrat,  and  had  performed  most  valuable  ser 
vice  to  his  country  in  the  Revolution  which  won 
the  independence  of  the  American  colonies.  In  a 
letter  to  General  Washington,  dated  Philadelphia, 
May  8th,  1791,  Mr.  Jefferson  thus  feelingly  alludes 
to  Mr.  Adams'  apostacy  :  "  I  am  afraid  the  indis 
cretion  of  a  printer  has  committed  me  with  my 
friend  Mr.  Adams,  for  whom  I  have  a  cordial  es 
teem,  increased  by  long  habits  of  concurrence  in 
opinion  in  the  days  of  his  republicanism,  and  even 
since  his  apostacy  to  hereditary  monarchy  and  no 
bility  ;  though  we  differ,  we  differ  as  friends." 
Again  Jefferson  says  :  "  Mr.  Adams  had  originally 
been  a  republican  (democrat).  The  glare  of  roy 
alty  and  nobility,  during  his  mission  to  England, 
had  made  him  believe  their  fascination  to  be  a  ne 
cessary  ingredient  in  government.  He  was  taken 
up  by  the  monarchical  Federalists  in  his  absence, 
and  on  his  return  to  the  United  States,  he  was  by 
them  made  to  believe  that  the  general  disposition 
of  our  citizens  was  favorable  to  monarchy." 

Under  Mr.  Adams'  administration,  the  most 
foolish  and  oppressive  acts  were  passed  by  .he 
Federalist  majority  of  Congress — among  them  the 
infamous  "Alien  and  Sedition  laws,"  ,vhich  gave, 
the  President  power  to  banish  all  aliens  from  the 
United  States,  or  to  lock  them  up  in  prison 


S2  THE    CAUSES    OF   TtHE    WAR. 

His  pleasure — also  to  cause  tlie  arrest  and  impris 
onment  of  any  person  who  should  write  or  speak 
anything  against  the  President  or  Congress.  In  a 
word,  these  acts  endowed  the  President  with  des 
potic  powers,  putting  the  liberty  of  every  Demo 
crat  in  the  United  States  in  jeopardy,  and  produ 
cing  a  reign  of  cruelty  and  terror  which  lasted  to 
the  end  of  Mr.  Adams'  administration. 

As  a  specimen  of  the  despotism  of  that  Adminis 
tration,  we  will  mention  the  case  of  Hon.  Mathew 
Lyon,  a  Democrat  and  estimable  citizen,  who  for 
"ridiculing  the  ridiculous  or  idle  parade"  of  the 
President,  was  seized  and  thrust  into  a  cold  dun 
geon  six  feet  square,  where  he  was  left  freezing 
and  starving  for  a  whole  winter,  and  his  liberation 
then  authorized  only  on  condition  of  his  paying  a 
fine  of  one  thousand  dollars.  The  Federalists 
everywhere  ran  riot  in  cruelty  and  mob  violence. 
One  of  the  most  distinguished  patriots  of  the 
United  States,  General  Sumter,  was  brutally 
knocked  down  and  beaten,  by  one  of  the  officers 
and  spies  of  the  Administration,  at  the  theatre  in 
Philadelphia,  because  he  neglected  to  take  off  his 
hat  when  it  was  announced  that  the  President  was 
coming  in.  General  Sumter  was  at  this  time  an 
old  man,  as  ripe  with  honors  won  in  the  service 
of  his  country,  as  with  years.  But  neither  age, 
nor  virtue,  nor  patriotism  afforded  any  shield 
from  the  malice  of  the  supporters  of  the  king- 
aping  President. 

As  a,  specimen  of  the  monarchical  spirit  of  those 
times,  we  will  give  the  following  brief  extract  of  a 


THE   CAUSES    OF   THE    WAR.  23 

public  address  made  to  the  President,  dated  Bos 
ton,  May  1st,  1798  :  "  We,  the  subscribers,  inhabi 
tants,  and  citizens  of  Boston,  in  the  State  of  Mas 
sachusetts,  deeply  impressed  with  the  alarming 
situation  of  our  country,  beg  leave  to  express  to 
you,  the  chief  magistrate  and  supreme  ruler  over 
the  United  States,  our  fullest  approbation  of  all 
the  measures,  external  and  internal,  you  have 
been  pleased  to  adopt,  under  direction  of  divine 
authority." 

It  is  proper  to  mention  that  the  only  "  alarming 
situation  of  our  country"  at  that  time  was  the  nat 
ural  and  growing  indignation  of  the  people  at  the 
despotism  of  the  party  in  power.  The  historian 
of  these  events,  John  Wood,  says  :  "During  the 
scenes  of  tyranny  which  were  daily  exhibited,  the 
Federal  papers  throughout  the  Union  were  filled 
with  an  address  to  the  President,  complimenting 
him  upon  his  mildness  and  justice,  the  impartiality 
of  his  administration,  his  attachment  to  liberty, 
and  his  benevolence  to  foreigners." 

The  author  above  quoted  says  in  another  place  : 
"  These  factions  admired  John  Adams,  because 
John  Adams  admired  the  British  constitution  and 
cursed  the  French  republic.  They  bestowed  un 
bounded  panegyrics  upon  Alexander  Hamilton  for 
the  same  reason.  They  thought  the  administra 
tion  and  the  government  ought  to  be  confounded 
and  identified ;  that  the  administration  was  the 
government,  and  the  government  the  administra 
tion,  and  that  the  people  ought  to  bow  in  tame 
submission  to  its  whims  and  caprices." 


24  THE    CAUSES    OF   THE    WAR. 

It  does  not  need  one  to  come  from  the  dead  to 
tell  you  that  during  the  last  five  years  we  had  a 
resurrection  of  the  same  party,  which  had  lain  in 
its  grave  ever  since  it  was  driven  from  powoi  in 
1800,  by  the  election  of  Mr.  Jefferson  to  the  Presi 
dency.  Its  defeat  and  overthrow  then  was  owing 
to  the  patriotism  and  decision  of  the  united  South 
under  the  lead  of  Jefferson  and  Madison.  In  op 
position  to  all  these  unconstitutional  and  despotic 
acts  of  the  Federalists,  these  patriots  drew  up  the 
celebrated  "  Kentucky  and  Virginia  Resolutions  of 
1798,"  which  were  adopted  by  the  Legislatures  of 
Kentucky  and  Virginia,  and  accepted  by  the  whole 
South,  with  as  much  unanimity  as  they  were  con 
demned  by  the  North.  These  resolutions  are  too 
long  to  quote  here,  but  their  substance  may  be 
given  in  a  few  words.  They  pointedly  condemn 
all  the  revolutionary  and  despotic  acts  of  the 
Adams  Administration,  as  subversive  of  the  free 
government  of  the  United  States,  and  clearly  set 
forth  all  the  powers  of  the  Federal  Government  as 
resulting  from  a  compact,  or  agreement,  between 
independent  and  sovereign  States,  each  State  pos 
sessing  "  an  equal  right"  to  decide  "  for  itself  as 
well  of  infractions  as  of  the  mode  and  manner 
of  redress."  As  one  of  these  sets  of  resolutions 
was  drawn  by  the  very  hand  which  wrote  the  De 
claration  of  Independence,  and  the  other  by  that 
which  wrote  the  Constitution  of  our  country,  they 
were  received  by  all  the  friends  of  free  government 
as  the  utterance  of  the  highest  wisdom  and  patriot 
ism.  The  monarchy-aping  Federalists  raised  a 


I 

THE    CAUSES   OF   THE    WAR.  25 

wild  outcry  of  alarm,  but  the  friends  of  democracy 
at  once  adopted  the  resolutions  as  their  written 
creed.  On  the  platform  -of  these  resolutions  Jef 
ferson  was  elected  President,  and  the  Federalists 
hurled  ignominiously  from  power. 

No  language  can  equal  the  violence  and  inde 
cency  of  the  vanquished  Federalists.  For  defeat 
ing  their  plans  of  revolution,  Jefferson  was  de 
nounced  as  an  "infidel,"  a  "jacobin."  a  "traitor," 
a  "  scoundrel."  These  offensive  epithets  were 
hurled  at  the  head  of  the  patriotic  author  of  our 
Declaration  of  Independence  from  pulpits,  from 
the  legislative  halls  of  the  Northern  States,  and 
from  the  columns  of  every  Federal  newspaper  in 
the  land,  just  as  similar  indecent  jeers  are  now 
heaped  upon  the  true  followers  of  the  great  and 
good  Jefferson,  by  those  who  are  trying  to  over 
throw  the  democratic  government  made  by  our  fa 
thers. 

The  hatred  of  Jefferson,  as  of  all  the  leading  * 
statesmen  of  the  South,  which  rankled  in  the 
bosoms  of  the  discomfited  Federalists,  knew  no 
bounds.  It  did  not  die  with  that  generation. 
The  parents  taught  their  children  to  hate,  not 
only  the  name  of  Jefferson,  but  the  whole  South 
ern  people. 


CHAPTEK  H. 

THE   CAUSES   OF    THE   WAR,  CONTINUED. 

IN  continuation  of  the  proofs  that  the  enmity 
between  the  North  and  South,  which  resulted  in 
the  war,  was  laid,  at  a  very  early  period,  in  the 
conflict  of  fundamental  principles  of  government, 
we  will  summon  again  the  testimony  of  Jefferson 
himself.  In  a  letter,  dated  April  24th,  1796,  ad 
dressed  to  the  historian,  Mazzei,  and  published  in 
the  Paris  Montteur,  January  25th,  1798,  Mr.  Jeffer 
son  says  :  "  Our  political  situation  is  prodigiously 
changed  since  you  left  us.  Instead  of  that  noble 
love  of  liberty,  and  that  republican  government, 
which  carried  us  through  the  dangers  of  the  war, 
an  Anglo-monarchic-aristocratic  party  has  arisen. 
Their  avowed  object  is,  to  impose  upon  us  the  sub 
stance,  as  they  have  already  given  us  the  form,  of 
the  British  Government.  Nevertheless,  the  prin 
cipal  body  of  our  citizens  remain  faithful  to  the 
republican  principles.  I  should  give  you  a  fever 
if  I  should  name  the  apostates  who  have  embraced 
these  heresies,  men  who  were  Solomons  in  council 
and  Sampsons  in  conflict,  but  whose  hair  has  been 
cut  off  by  the  Delilah  of  England.  They  would 
wrest  from  us  that  liberty  which  we  have  obtained 
by  so  much  labor  and  peril ;  but  we  shall  preserve 
it." 


THE   CAUSES    OF   THE   WAR.  27 


In  another  letter  of  a  later  date,  Jefferson  says  : 
"  The  Alien  and  Sedition  laws  are  working  hard. 
For  my  own  part  I  consider  these  laws  merely  as 
an  experiment  on  the  American  mind,  to  see  how 
far  it  will  bear  an  avowed  violation  of  the  Consti 
tution.  If  this  goes  down  we  shall  immediately  see 
another  act  of  Congress  attempt  declaring  that  the 
President  shall  continue  in  office  during  life,  re 
serving  to  another  occasion  the  transfer  of  the  suc 
cession  to  his  heirs,  and  the  establishment  of  a 
Senate  for  life." 

This  severe  language  of  Mr.  Jefferson  is  fully 
borne  out  in  a  letter  from  John  Langdon  to 
Samuel  Kingold,  dated  at  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  Oc 
tober  10th,  1800,  in  which  he  says  :  "  In  a  conver 
sation  between  Mr.  Adams,  Mr.  Taylor,  and  my 
self,  Mr.  Adams  certainly  expressed  a  hope  or 
expectation  that  his  friend  Giles  would  see  the 
day  when  he  would  be  convinced  that  the  people 
of  America  would  not  be  happy  without  an  heredi 
tary  chief  magistrate  and  senate,  or  at  least  for 
life." 

Now  let  us  return  and  quote  further  from  the 
letter  G*I  Jefferson  :  "  A  weighty  minority  of  these 
(Federalist)  leaders  considering  the  voluntary  con 
version  of  our  Government  into  a  monarchy  as  too 
distant,  if  not  too  desperate,  wish  to  break  off  from 
our  Union  its  eastern  fragment,  as  being  in  fact 
the  hotbed  of  American  monarchism,  with  a  view 
to  the  commencement  of  their  favorite  government, 
from  whence  other  States  may  gangrene  by  de- 


28  THE   CAUSES    OF   THE   WAR. 

grees,  and  the  whole  thus  by  degrees  be  brought 
to  the  desired  point." 

This  assertion  of  Mr.  Jefferson  is  fully  sustained 
by  no  less  eminent  an  author  than  Mathew  Gary, 
who,  in  his  celebrated  work,  entitled  The  Olive 
Branch,  gives  a  great  many  facts  in  relation  to  a 
conspiracy  in  New  England  to  break  up  the  Ee- 
public  as  early  as  1796.  He  says  :  "  A  Northern 
Confederacy  has  been  the  object  for  a  number  of 
years.  They  have  repeatedly  advocated  in  public 
prints  a  separation  of  the  States,  on  account  of 
pretended  discordant  views  and  interests  of  the 
different  sections.  This  project  of  separation  was 
formed  shortly  after  the  adoption  of  the  Federal 
Constitution.  Whether  it  was  ventured  before  the 
public  earlier  than  1796,  I  know  not,  but  of  its 
promulgation  that  year  there  is  most  indubitable 
evidence.  To  sow  discord,  jealousy  and  hostility 
between  different  sections  of  the  Union  was  the 
first  grand  step  in  their  career,  in  order  to  accom 
plish  the  favorite  object  of  a  separation  of  the 
States.  For  eighteen  years,  therefore,  (i.  e.  from 
1796  to  1814)  the  most  unceasing  endeavors  have 
been  used  to  poison  the  minds  .of  the  people  of  the 
Eastern  States  towards,  and  to  alienate  them  from, 
their  fellow-citizens  of  the  Southern  States.  No 
thing  can  exceed  the  violence  of  these  caricatures, 
some  of  which  would  have  suited  the  ferocious  in 
habitants  of  New  Zealand  rather  than  a  eivilked 
and  polished  nation." 

/     Here  you  have  proofs  that  the  war  upon  the 
*  South  was  really  begun  by  New  England  as  early 


THE    CAUSES    OF   THE  WAR.  29 

\sw.  1796.  In  that  year  an  elaborate  series  of  pa- 
p6«£rwas  published  in  Hartford,  in  the  Stale  of 
Connecticut,  under  the  signature  of  "  Pelham." 
These  papers,  Mr.  Carey  tells  us,  were  the  joint  pro 
duction  of  men  of  the  first  talents  in  New  England. 
The  following  extract  from  the  first  number  of  this 
Pelham  series  of  essays  fully  justifies  all  that  either 
Mr.  Jefferson  or  Mr.  Carey  has  said  of  the  malcon 
tents  of  New  England  : 

"The  Northern  States  can  subsist  as  a  nation 
without  any  connection  with  the  Southern.  It 
cannot  be  contested  that  if  the  Southern  States 
were  possessed  of  the  same  political  ideas,  our 
Union  would  be  more  close,  but  when  it  becomes 
a  serious  question  whether  we  shall  give  up  our 
Government  or  part  with  the  States  south  of  the 
Potomac,  no  man  north  of  that  river,  whose  heart 
is  not  thoroughly  democratic,  can  hesitate  what  de 
cision  to  make." 

This,  you  must  bear  in  mind,  was  written  in 
1796.     It  proves  that  the  republican,  or  democra 
tic  principle  of  government,  which  was  so  tena 
ciously  adhered  to  by  the  people  of  the  South,  was 
the  cause  of  all  the  cunning  hatred  and  abuse 
;  heaped  upon  them  by  the  Federal  monarchy-loving 
leaders  of  New  England.     They  deliberately  pro- 
;  posed  to  destroy  the  Union  then,  because  the  South 
j  was  so  "  thoroughly  democratic."    Incompatibility 
1  of  "political  ideas"  was  given  as  a  sufficient  reason 
for  maligning  the  character  of  a  whole  people,  and 
for  desiring  to  break  up  the  Union  which  had  been 


30  THE    CAUSES   OF  THE    WAE. 

established  by  the  Constitution  only  eight  years 
before. 

As  early  as  the  above  date,  then,  we  must  fix 
upon  as  the  starting  point  of  a  political  and  social 
war  upon  the  South,  on  the  part  of  the  Federalists 
in  the  Eastern  States,  which  went  on  gathering 
and  increasing  in  intensity  of  estrangement  and 
hatred,  until  it  ripened,  at  last,  into  the  late  ter 
rible  strife.  There  is  a  good  maxim  which  tells  us 
that  "  continual  dropping  will  wear  a  stone."  If 
all  the  vile  and  all  the  false  things  which  have  been 
published  in  Northern  papers  and  books  for  the 
last  seventy  years,  or  from  1796  to  1866,  ostensibly 
against  the  South,  but  really  to  make  democracy 
odious,  were  gathered  into  one  work,  it  would 
make  a  hundred  volumes,  each  as  big  as  a  folio 
Bible.  Is  it  not  a  wonder  that  the  fatal  conflict 
did  not  come  before  ?  The  political  peace,  the 
moral  peace,  the  social  peace  of  this  Union  was 

1  I  broken  by  the  old  Federal  party,  more  than  seven- 

j  j  ty  years  ago.     But  the  complete  triumph  of  the 
J  .  Democratic  party  over  that  pernicious  faction  saved 
the  country  from  an  open  rupture  for  the  long  pe- 
'  riod  of  sixty  years. 

The  hatrea  of  the  South,  however,  engendered 

|  py  the  old  monarchist  party  of  New  England,  could 
never  be  worked  out  of  the  anti-democratic  portion 

J  /of  the  Northern  people.  If  the  ground  on  which 
their  hatred  rested  was  worn  away  by  time,  or 
rendered  no  longer  a  decent  excuse  for  opposi- 

i  tion,  their  leaders  were  sure  to  hunt  up  some  new 
issue  on  which  to  hang  another  chance  of  securing 


THE   CAUSES    OP   THE    WAK.  31 

the  end  they  had  in  view.  Thus,  when  there  n<? 
longer  remained  a  chance  or  a  hope  of  revolution 
izing  or  changing  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  into  a  form  more  congenial  to  the  monarch 
ic  al  views  of  Hamilton  and  Adams,  another  excuse 
was  sought  for  by  which  the  cherished  objects  they 
had  in  view  might  be  accomplished.  After  they 
could  no  longer  make  headway  against  the  demo 
cracy  of  Jefferson,  the  old  Hamilton  party  hunted 
round  for  some  new  issue  on  which  they  could 
rally  and  keep  alive  their  waning  partisan  strength. 
They  hit  upon  the  negro.  Not  that  they  had  inx 
their  own  hearts  any  peculiar  love  for  him,  or 
any  objection  to  negro  subordination  as  it  existed 
in  this  country.  A  great  many  of  the  leading  men 
of  their  party  had  become  rich  out  of  the  "  slave 
trade," — that  is,  in  bringing  negroes  to  these 
shores  and  selling  them  to  the  Southern  States. 
Negro  subordination  had  existed  also  in  every 
Northern  State  ;  but  the  climate  was  so  cold  that 
the  negro  was  found  to  be  unprofitable  as  a  labor 
er,  and  so  he  was  declared  "  free."  But  no  State 
did  this  for  the  reasons  now  given.  Abolitionism 
or  negro  equality,  as  now  understood,  did  not  exist 
among  the  Federal  leaders.  The  negroes  were 
quite  universally  looked  upon  as  an  inferior  and 
helpless  race,  incapable  of  sustaining  themselves  as 
civilized  beings,  and  as  every  way  better  off  under 
the  institution  of  servitude,  as  it  existed  in  this 
country,  than  they  were  in  their  own  native  Africa. 
There  they  are  all  slaves  to  uncivilized  heathen 
masters.  They  live  upon  snakes  and  worms,  and 


32  THE   CAUSES    OF   THE   WAR. 

lead  a  life  that  is  only  just  above  that  of  the  brute 
creation.  Their  lives  also  are  entirely  at  the  dis 
posal  of  their  barbarian  masters.  Sometimes  as 
many  as  three  or  four  thousand  of  them  are  taken 
out  one  after  another,  and  butchered  like  so  many 
pigs,  as  a  sacrifice  to  the  negro  divinities.  The 
most  wretched  negro  in  the  Southern  States  was  a 
great  deal  better  off,  every  way,  than  he  was  in  his 

sown  native  country.  All  well-informed  people 
knew  this  to  be  true.  Therefore  the  great  major 
ity  of  good  and  intelligent  men  believed  the  insti 
tution  of  servitude  in  the  Southern  States  to  be  a 

!  real  blessing.  A  comparison  made  between  the 
negro  with  a  master  and  the  negro  without  one, 
almost  always  resulted  in  favor  of  the  former,  as 

\  the  happier  of  the  two.  Very  few  good  people, 
therefore,  had  any  objection  to  the  condition  of 
the  negro  in  this  country.  It  was  conceded  by  all 
candid  observers  that  there  was  nowhere  on  earth 
to  be  found  another  population  of  negroes  so  happy 
and  so  contented  as  those  of  the  South.  Wash 
ington,  Jefferson,  Madison,  and  nearly  all  the 
greatest  and  best  men  who  fought  against  England 
for  our  liberties,  and  who  were  the  means  of  estab 
lishing  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  were 
"  slaveholders."  They  were  not  only  great  states 
men,  but  they  were  celebrated  for  their  moral  and 
Christian  character.  And  they  were  "  slavehold 
ers."  I  have  said  that  they  considered  the  negro 
as  belonging  to  an  inferior  race,  not  entitled  to  as 
sociate  with  white  people,  except  as  a  servant, 
had  been  the  opinion  of  all  Christian  natioQF 


THE    CAUSES    OF   THE    WAR.  33 

for  rt^re  than  two^  thousand  years.  Indeed  it  was 
the  opinion  of  all  wise  men  who  lived  in  the  world 
many  thousands  of  years  ago,  even  before  the  birth 
of  our  Saviour.  If  any  taught  otherwise,  they 
were  looked  upon  as  ignorant  dreamers,  fanatics, 
and  as  men  of  no  standing  in  society.  No  respec 
table  white  man  or  woman  would  have  associated 
with  a  person  who  admitted  a  negro  to  be  his 
equal.  This  was  the  state  of  opinion,  not  only  in 
our  country,  but  throughout  the  civilized  world. , 
Even  Massachusetts,  no  longer  ago  than  1836, 
passed  a  law  to  imprison  any  justice  of  the  peace, 
or  clergyman,  who  should  be  guilty  of  marrying  a  < 
white  person  to  a  negro.  The  laws  of  every  State  , 
in  the  Union  wisely  denied  negroes  an  equality  j  • 
with  white  people.  I  say  this  was  a  just  and  ne 
cessary  provision  in  order  to  prevent  what  is  called 
mulattoism  or  mongrelism,  that  is,  a  mixture  of  the 
white  and  black  races,  which  history  and  expe 
rience  have  proved  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  curses 
that  can  befall  society.  Every  nation  on  the  face 
of  the  earth  where  such  a  mixture  has  taken  place 
to  any  considerable  extent,  has  declined  in  its 
civilization,  and  gradually  sunk  down  in  ruin,  as 
if  wasted  by  a  slow  poison.  And  that  is  just  what 
it  was.  God's  punishment  upon  men  for  violating/ 
his  laws. 


CHAPTEB 

CAUSES    OF    THE  WAK,   CONTINUED. 

?  I  HAVE  said  that  when  the  political  descendants 
of  the  old  Federalists  pitched  upon  the  negro 
jquestion  they  were  governed  by  no  love  for  the 
hegro,  but  solely  by  their  old  hatred  of  democratic 
principles.  The  very  Northern  States  which,  in 
1787,  voted  against  the  immediate  abolition  of  the 
"slave-trade,"  a  few  years  after  led  off  the  mad 
crusade  against  the  States  in  which  so-called  slav 
ery  existed  by  law,  and  under  the  protecting  shield 
of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  This 
agitation  was,  virtually,  a  declaration  of  war  against 
the  Southern  States.  It  was,  indeed,  the  begin 
ning  of  hostilities.  Of  hostilities,  unprovoked  on 
the  part  of  the  South,  and  having  no  foundation 
even  in  any  portion  of  Northern  opinion,  except  in 
that  which  was  the  hereditary  foe  of  a  democratic 
form  of  government.  This  revival  of  the  un 
friendly  and  revolutionary  spirit  of  old  Federal- 
j  ism  began  in  opposition  to  the  admission  of  the 
'State  of  Missouri  into  the  Union  as  a  "slave"1 
'State.  This  was  in  1820.  Ex-President  Jefferson 
at  once  saw  that  the  negro  question  was  only  the 
excuse,  while  the  real  motive  was  to  reinstate  the 
lost  fortunes  of  the  old  democracy-despising  Fed- 


THE    CAUSES    OF    THE    WAR.  35 

eralism.  In  a  letter  to  General  Lafayette,  Mr,  Jef 
ferson  said  :  "  On  the  eclipse  of  Federalism  with 
us,  although  not  its  extinction,  its  leaders  got  up 
the  Missouri  question  under  the  false  front  of  les 
sening  the  measure  of  slavery,  but  with  the  real 
view  of  producing  a  geographical  division  of  parties 
which  might  ensure  them  the  next  president. 
The  people  of  the  North  went  blindfold  into  the 
snare." 

This  was  a  very  cunning  dodge  on  the  part  of 
the  Federalists.  By  their  avowed  leaning  to  inon- 
archism,  and  their  hatred  of  the  democratic  form 
of  government  which  had  been  adopted  by  the 
majority  of  the  people,  they  had  made  their  prin 
ciples  and  their  very  name  despised.  It  was 
therefore  necessary  for  them  to  take  a  new  name, 
and  to  bring  out  some  new  issues  in  order  to  get 
back  into  power.  But,  whether  under  a  new 
name,  or  with  professedly  new  objects,  the  real 
object  was  the  same.  It  was  to  overthrow  demo 
cracy,  and  to  carry  out  its  long-cherished  desire  of 
revolutionizing  our  government  in  fact,  if  not  in  form 

I  have  shown  that  the  sagacious  and  far-seeing 
mind  of  Jefferson  fully  understood  the  plans  of  the 
Federalists  when  they  hit  upon  the  negro  question 
as  a  means  of  party  agitation.  I  have  already 
quoted  what  he  wrote  to  General  Lafayette,  who 
loft  his  own  country,  France,  and  came  to  assist 
our  forefathers  in  their  noble  struggle  for  indepen 
dence.  In  another  letter  Mr.  Jefferson  wrote  as 
follows  :  "  The  question  is  a  mere  party  trick 
The  leaders  of  Federalism,  defeated  in  theii 


36  THE   CAUSES    OF   THE    WAK. 

schemes  of  obtaining  power  by  rallying  partisans 
to  the  principles  of  monarchism — a  principle  of 
personal,  not  of  local  division — have  changed  their 
tack,  and  thrown  out  another  barrel  to  the  whale. 
They  are  taking  advantage  of  the  virtuous  feelings 
of  the  people  to  effect  a  division  of  parties  by  a 
geographical  line  ;  they  expect  that  this  will  insure 
them,  on  local  principles,  the  majority  they  could 
never  obtain  on  principles  of  Federalism." 

While  the  old  Federalists  had  ceased  to  openly 
avow  their  design  to  break  up  our  Government, 
they  cunningly  sought  the  same  object  by  arraying 
one  half  of  the  Union  against  the  other,  on  this 
.subject  of  the  status  of  the  negro.  So  far  as  his 
tory  informs  us,  this  infamous  trick  was  first  sug 
gested  to  the  Federalists  by  a  British  spy  of  the 
name  of  John  Henry,  who  was  sent  to  this  country 
iin  1809,  to  lay  plans  to  destroy  the  Union.  Henry 
jwas  commissioned  to  assist  in  this  work  by  the 
British  Governor  of  Canada,  whose  name  was 
I  Craig. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  Governor  Craig's 
letter  of  instructions  to  Henry  : 

"  QUEBEC,  February,  1809. 

"  I  request  you  to  proceed  with  the  earliest  con 
veyance  to  Boston.  *  *  *  The  known  intelli 
gence  and  ability  of  several  of  its  leading  men, 
must  give  it  a  considerable  influence  over  the  other 
States,  and  will  probably  lead  them  in  the  part 
they  are  to  take.  *  *  *  It  has  been  supposed 
that  if  the  Federalists  of  the  Eastern  States  should 


THE   CAUSES   OP   THIS    WAR.  37 

be  successful,  and  obtain  the  decided  influence 
which  may  enable  them  to  direct  public  opinion,  it 
is  not  improbable  that,  rather  than  submit,  they 
will  exert  that  influence  to  bring  about  a  separation 
from  the  general  Union.  *  *  *  I  enclose  a  cre 
dential,  but  you  must  not  use  it  unless  you  are 
satisfied  it  will  lead  to  more  confidential  communi 
cations." 

The  fact  of  this  conspiracy  between  the  agents 
of  the  British  Government  in  Canada,  and  the 
leading  Federalists  of  New  England,  came  to  the 
knowledge  of  Mr.  Madison,  who  was  President  of 
the  United  States,  and  he  laid  all  the  proofs  before 
Congress.  In  his  message  to  Congress  on  the  sub 
ject,  President  Madison  said  : 

"  I  lay  before  Congress  copies  of  certain  docu 
ments,  which  remain  in  the  department  of  State. 
They  prove  that,  at  a  recent  period,  on  the  part  of 
the  British  Government,  through  its  public  minis 
ter  here,  a  secret  agent  of  that  government  was 
employed,  in  certain  States,  more  especially  at  the 
seat  of  government  in  Massachusetts,  in  fomenting 
disaffection  to  the  constituted  authorities  of  the 
country ;  and  intrigued  with  the  disaffected,  for 
the  purpose  of  bringing  about  resistance  to  the 
laws,  and  eventually,  in  concert  with  a  British 
force,  of  destroying  the  Union,  and  forming  the 
eastern  part  thereof  into  a  political  connexion  with 
Great  Britain." 

The  laying  of  these  documents  before  Congress 
created  a  great  fluttering  among  the  Federalists. 


38  THE   CAUSES    OF   THE    WAR. 

They  contained  the  indisputable  proofs  of  theif 
guilty  intentions  to  overthrow  the  Union,  if  they 
could  not  otherwise  subvert  the  democratic  form 
of  government  established  by  the  people. 

(  fi  I  have  said  that  the  plan  of  subverting  our  Gov« 
'/eminent,  or  overthrowing  the  Union,  by  agitating 
the  negro  question,  was  probably  first  suggested 
by  this  British  spy  and  conspirator,  Henry.  He 
wrote  back  to  the  authorities  who  had  employed 
him  in  Canada,  that  although  he  found  the  leaders 
of  the  Federalists  of  New  England  ripe  for  any 
measure  which  could  sever  the  Union,  yet  that  he 
found  the  sentiment  of  Union  so  strong  among  the 
masses  of  the  people  that  he  doubted  if  it  could  be 
immediately  dissolved.  He  suggested  that  the 
best  way  to  further  this  scheme  of  disunion  would 
be  to  get  up  some  sectional  domestic  question  on 
which  the  prejudices  and  passions  of  the  people 
could  be  permanently  divided.  This,  he  was  sure 
would,  in  time,  accomplish  disunion.  The  sec 
tional  question  at  which  he  hinted  was  "  slavery." 

|  He  did  not  miscalculate.     It  did  its  work.     It  ac- 
\complished  disunion. 

As  I  shall  show  you  before  we  get  through  with 
these  pages,  the  great  design  that  the  British  Gov 
ernment  had,  was  to  break  down  the  glorious  gov 
ernment  which  Washington  had  fought  to  estab 
lish,  and  when  they  saw  they  could  not  do  it  by 
open  warfare,  they  resorted  to  deceit  and  trickery. 
One  proof  of  this  may  be  found  in  the  following 
circumstance. 


THE   CAUSES    OP   THE   WAS.  39 

Mr.  Aaron  Legget,  an  eminent  New  York  mer-\ 
chant  and  a  quaker  abolitionist,  declared  that, 
while  in  Mexico,  at  the  time  of  the  abolition  of 
"  slavery"  in  the  West  Indies,  he  met  Deputy  Com 
missary  General  Wilson  of  the  British  army,  and 
at  that  time  an  agent  appointed  by  the  British 
Government  to  make  the  final  arrangements  con 
nected  with  the  abolition  of  "  slavery  "  in  the  West 
Indies,  who  told  him  that  the  English  Govern 
ment,  in  abolishing  "  slavery  "  in  that  colony,  were 
not  moved  by  any  consideration  for  the  negro. 
"  Mr.  Wilson  said  that  the  abolition  of  slavery  in 
the  British  colonies  would  naturally  create  an  en 
thusiastic  anti-slavery  sentiment  in  England  and 
America,  and  that  in  America  this  would,  in  pro 
cess  of  time,  excite  a  hostility  between  the  free 
States  and  the  slave  States,  which  would  end  in 
the  dissolution  of  the  American  Union,  and  the 
consequent  failure  of  the  grand  experiment  of  demo 
cratic  government ;  and  the  rum  of  democracy  in 
America  would  be  the  perpetuation  of  aristocracy  in 
England"*  There  has  always  been  a  party  of  men 
in  the  Northern  States  who  fully  sympathized  with 
the  wishes  of  England  in  this  respect.  Indeed  the 
whole  progress  of  the  abolition  movement  shows 
that  it  has  been  a  plot  of  British  monarchists, 
aided  by  a  set  of  men  in  this  country,  to  destroy 
the  Government  as  it  was  formed  by  Washington. 


*  The  reliability  of  this  statement  is  attested  in  a  lettel 
written  by  Sidney  E,  Morse,  Esq.,  of  this  city,  to  whom  Mr 
L.  related  it, 


40  THE    CAUSES    OF   THE    WAR. 

Sir  Kobert  Peel  said,  when  the  $100,000,000  was 
paid  to  "  free  the  negroes  in  the  West  Indies,  that 
it  was  the  best  investment  ever  made  for  the  over 
throw  of  republican  institutions  in  America."  The 
British  aristocracy  always  seemed  to  feel  and  know 
that  negro  equality  would  overthrow  our  Govern- 
'ment. 

The  statement  of  the  spy,  Henry,  that  he  found 
the  leading  Federalists  of  New  England  ripe  for 
disunion,  but  not  the  masses  of  the  people,  ought 
to  be  noted.  It  goes  to  show  that  the  great  body 
of  the  people  all  over  the  country  are  patriotic, 
and  if  they  go  wrong,  are  misled  by  wicked  and 
r  ambitious  leaders.  When  I  refer  to  New  England, 
)•  I  only  mean  a  majority  of  the  leading  men,  who 
!lhave  miseducated  the  people  and  deceived  them. 
Various  causes  have  conspired  to  give  them  an  op 
portunity  to  practice  deception,  particularly  in 
New  England,  which  I  will  more  fully  explain 
hereafter.  But  that  section  contains  thousands  of 
sound  and  good  men,  who  have  ever  been  true  to 
the  Government  as  it  was  formed.  That  they  have 
generally  been  in  a  minority  is  all  the  more  honor 
to  their  courage  and  patriotism,  for  it  proves  be 
yond  question  the  sincerity  of  their  political  con 
victions. 

The  facts  in  the  c&se,  however,  prove  beyond  a 
doubt  that,  at  the  time  to  which  we  refer,  the  Brit 
ish  conspirator,  John  Henry,  was  favorably  re 
ceived  by  the  leading  men  in  the  Eastern  States  as 
an  agent  for  overthrowing  the  Union.  The  Fed 
eralists  treated  with  him  for  this  purpose.  Mr. 


THE    CAUSES   OF   THE    WAK.  41 

Jefferson  saw  the  full  extent  of  their  designs.     In 
a  letter  to  Governor  Langdon,  he  says  : 

"  For  five  and  thirty  years  we  have  walked  to 
gether  through  a  land  of  tribulation  ;  yet  those 
have  passed  away,  and  so,  I  trust,  will  these  of  the, 
present  day.  The  Toryism  with  which  we  strug 
gled  in  1777,  differed  but  in  name  from  the  Fed 
eralism  of  1799,  with  which  we  struggled  also 
and  the  Anglocism  (i.  e.  English  monarchism)  of 
1808,  against  which  we  are  now  struggling,  is  but 
the  same  thing  in  another  form.  It  is  longing  for 
a  king,  and  an  English  king  rather  than  any  other. 
This  is  the  true  source  of  their  sorrows  and  wail- 
ings." 

In  the  war  between  the  United  States  and  Eng 
land  in  1812,  the  New  England  Federalists  took  , 
sides  with  England  against  their  own  country,  so 
far  as  they  could  without  actually  taking  up  arms 
against  the  "United  States.  Even  John  Quincy 
Adams,  a  Massachusetts  man  himself,  was  com 
pelled  to  confess  that :  "  In  the  Eastern  States, 
curses  and  anathemas  were  liberally  hurled  from 
the  pulpit  on  the  heads  of  all  those  who  aided,  di 
rectly  or  indirectly,  in  carrying  on  the  war."  I 
dwell  on  these  matters  to  show  you  that  there  was 
always  a  party  in  New  England  which  was  an 
enemy  to  the  Government  of  our  country.  At  the 
time  of  which  I  have  been  speaking,  Caleb  Strong 
was  Governor  of  Massachusetts.  General  Fessen- 
den  introduced  the  following  resolution  into  the 
Legislature  of  that  State  :  "  And  therefore  be  it  re 
solved,  that  we  recommend  to  his  Excellency.  Ca- 


42  THE    CAUSES    OF    THE    WAR. 

leb  Strong,  to  take  the  revenue  of  the  State  into 
his  own  hands,  arm  and  equip  the  militia,  and  de 
clare  us  independent  of  the  Union." 

At  this  time  Fisher_Ames,  one  of  the  most  dis 
tinguished  men  of  New  England,  said :  "  Our 
country  is  too  big  for  Union,  too  sordid  for  patriot 
ism,  too  democratic  for  liberty.  Our  disease  is 
democracy  ;  it  is  not  the  skin  that  festers,  our 
very  bones  are  carious,  and  their  marrow  blackens 
with  gangrene."  Rev.  Dr.  D  wight  said  :  "  The 
Declaration  of  Independence  is  a  wicked  thing.  I 
thought  so  when  it  was  proclaimed,  and  I  think  so 
still."  One  of  the  leading  papers  of  Boston  de 
clared  :  "  We  never  fought  for  a  republic.  The 
form  of  our  Government  was  the  result  of  neces 
sity,  not  the  offspring  of  choice."  The  Boston 
Gazette  threatened  President  Madison  with  death, 
if  he  attempted  to  compel  the  Eastern  States  to 
fight  against  England  at  that  time.  I  could  make 
a  large  book  with  extracts  from  the  leading  men 
and  the  principal  papers  of  New  England  of  those 
days,  showing  that  there  was,  through  all  that  sec 
tion,  a  wide-spread  and  a  bitter  hatred  of  our 
democratic  form  of  government,  and  of  the  Union. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   CAUSES   OF    THE   WAR,  CONTINUED. 

THE  admission  of  Missouri  into  the  Union  and 
the  restriction  of  "  slavery"  to  a  line  south  of  thir 
ty-six  degrees  and  thirty  minutes,  quieted  the  agi 
tation  of  the  question,  so  far  as  political  parties 
were  concerned.  Other  issues  arose,  however, 
such  as  the  bank,  tariff,  and  similar  questions , 
upon  which  political  parties  divided.  But  as  those  I 
issues  were  such  as  could  be  equally  understood  in 
all  sections  of  the  Union,  they  did  not  furnish  ma-, 
terial  for  disunion.  True,  South  Carolina,  feeling 
aggrieved  with  the  tariff  act  of  1828,  threatened  to 
nullify  the  law,  but  the  timely  modification  of  the  j 
act  prevented  all  trouble.  It  has  been  often  re 
presented  that  General  Jackson  secured  the  obe 
dience  of  South  Carolina  by  threats  of  force,  but 
the  truth  is,  it  was  effected  by  a  compromise.  A 
great  cry  has  been  made  over  this  act  of  nullifica 
tion  on  the  part  of  South  Carolina,  and  I  do  not 
intend  here  to  do  more  than  allude  to  it  and  say 
that  when  nearly  every  Northern  State  not  only 
nullified,  but  carried  into  effect  their  nullification 
of  a  plain  law  of  Congress,  it  does  not  become 
those  thus  guilty  to  upbraid  South  Carolina.  The 
act  in  relation  to  the  return  of  "  fugitives  from  ser- 


44  THE   CAUSES    OP   THE   WAR. 

vice,"  was  openly  and  distinctly  nullified  Dy  nearly 
every  Northern  State. 

The  great  contests  on  the  bank,  tariff,  and  other 
questions,  were  mainly  fought  out  between  the 
years  1820  and  1840.  During  that  time  such  pa 
triots  and  statesmen  as  Jackson,  Clay,  Calhoun, 
Webster,  Woodbury,  Silas  Wright,  Hayne,  and 
others,  met  in  debate  and  contended  for  the  mas 
tery.  However  much  these  men  differed,  they  all 
loved  their  country,  and  could  not  bear  the  thought 
of  seeing  it  disrupted.  But  during  the  whole  of 
this  time  a  wonderful  change  was  going  on  in  the 
popular  mind  on  the  question  of  the  negro  race. 
It  seemed  that  no  sooner  had  the  Missouri  ques 
tion  been  disposed  of,  and  the  agitation  banished 
from  the  halls  of  Congress,  than  fanatics  sprang 
up  all  over  proclaiming  "the  enormity  of  slavery 
as  a  sin  and  crime  against  God."  In  1821  Benja 
min  Lundy  commenced  the  publication  of  the 
"  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation" believed  to  be 
the  first  out  and  out  abolition  paper  in  this  coun 
try.  In  1823  the  first  abolition  society  was  organ 
ized  in  England.  This  period  in  history,  that  is, 
from  1820  to  1835,  was  characterized  by  a  general 
uprising  of  societies  of  all  kinds.  Large  sums  of 
moneywere  raised  to  spread  the  new  doctrine  that 
"slavery  was  a  crime,"  and  that  "slaveholders" 
were  "  thieves"  and  "  murderers."  At  first,  as  may 
be  naturally  supposed,  these  slanders  upon  Wash 
ington,  Jefferson,  Madison,  and  other  great  and 
good  men,  who  had  founded  our  Government  and 
whose  glorious  memories  were  still  fresh  in  the 


THE    CAUSES   OF    THE    WAK.  45 

hearts  of  the  people,  provoked  difficulties.  Eiota 
broke  out  all  over  the  North.  The  natural  in 
stincts*  of  the  people,  unperverted  as  they  had  been  (wv 
as  yet  by  abolition  teachings,  revolted  at  the  doc 
trine  of  negro  equality.  They  mobbed  the  promi- 
oout  movers  in  it  all  over  the  country.  The  house/ 
of  Arthur  Tappan,  in  New  York  city,  was  mobbed 
in  July,  1834.  About  the  same  time  the  church  of 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Cox  was  attacked.  A  large  hall  was 
burned  down  in  Philadelphia.  All  these  disorders 
were  directly  owing  to  the  revolting  doctrines  of 
the  abolitionists,  which  were  utterly  disgusting  to 
the  public  opinion  of  that  day.  Still  these  men 
kept  on,  printing  books,  tracts,  pamphlets,  maga 
zines,  newspapers,  etc.,  etc.,  and  spreading  them 
gratuitously  all  over  the  country.  They  had  now 
gotten  hold  of  that  "social  question"  which  the 
British  spy,  Henry,  had  suggested  as  the  one 
thing  necessary  in  order  to  produce  disunion. 

The  question,  too,  was  one  admirably  adapted 
to  their  purposes.  The  negroes  were  mainly  in 
the  Southern  States.  The  Northern  people  could 
not  be  expected  to  understand  a  race  of  which  they 
knew  but  little.  They  must  rely  upon  the  reports 
of  newspapers,  often  printed  by  unprincipled  men 
or  ambitious  politicians,  whose  whole  interest  con 
sisted  in  misrepresenting  facts.  But  above  and 
beyond  all,  there  was  another  cause  which  contrib 
uted  more  than  all  others  to  aid  the  abolitionists. 
The  subject  of  the  races  of  men  had  never  been  in 
vestigated.  Mr.  Jefferson  had  referred  to  this  matter 
and  said  it  was  "  a  reproach  to  us  that  though  for 


4ft  THE    CAUSES    OF   THE,    WAR. 

a  century  and  a  half  we  had  had  under  our  eyes 
the  races  of  black  and  of  red  men,  yet  they  had 
never  been  viewed  as  subjects  of  natural  history." 
And  he  went  further,  and  said,  "  I  advance  it  as  a 
suspicion  only  that  the  blacks,  whether  originally 
a  different  race,  or  made  distinct  by  time  and  cir 
cumstances,  are  inferior  to  the  whites  in  the  en 
dowments  both  of  mind  and  body."  Later  inves 
tigations  have  proved  beyond  a  doubt  that  the  ne 
gro  and  the  Caucasian,  or  white  man,  are  distinct 
'I  races  or  species  of  men.  Whether  they  were  origi 
nally  made  so  or  not,  the  Creator  of  all  only  knows, 
but  there  is  no  doubt  that  they  are  so  now,  and  if 
different,  of  course  we  cannot  expect  the  same 
things  of  them.  No  one  expects  a  goat  to  be  a 
sheep.  No  one  expects  a  mastiff  to  be  a  hound. 
If  blacks  and  whites  are  not  distinct  races  or  spe 
cies,  then  it  would  be  proper  and  beneficial  to 
amalgamate  with  negroes,  and  to  make  them  our 
equals  in  every  respect.  The  abolitionists,  how 
ever,  assume  that  there  is  but  one  human  race, 
and  as  that  has  been  generally  assented  to,  it  gave 
them  a  fine  field  for  their  delusion.  How  natural 
for  everybody  to  feel  that  if  the  negro  is  a  man 
like  ourselves  that  he  ought  to  have  the  same  or 
equal  rights  ?  And  above  all,  if  'slavery,"  "bond 
age,"  etc.,  has  repressed  his  energies,  kept  him 
down,  and  made  him  what  he  is,  how  much  more 
of  a  duty  it  is  to  lift  him  up  and  do  him  justice. 
But  all  the  pathetic  stories  of  the  abolitionists  pro 
ceeded  from  a  false  basis.  The  negro  was  not  a 
mail  like  the  white  man.  He  had  never  been  so 


THE    CAUSES    OF    THE    WAR.  47 

elevated  at  any  time  in  the  history  of  his  race  as 
the  four  millions  in  the  Southern  States.  Our  form 
of  society  had  civilized  and  Christianized  the  only 
negroes  that  had  ever  been  civilized  or  Christian 
ized.  This  is  simple  historical  fact,  which  no  one 
dare  deny.  But  still,  as  no  one  met  the  abolition- 
ists  in  this  way,  they  had  the  field  to  themselves. 
It  is  not  until  late  years,  not  until  the  whole  people 
had  been  more  or  less  deceived  and  corrupted, 
that  the  question  of  distinct  races  was  explained, 
and  the  justice  of  legal  and  social  distinctions  be 
tween  them  not  only  avowed,  but  placed  upon 
clear  grounds. 

Now  even  the  youngest  child  can  see  that  it 
would  be  wrong  and  cruel  to  ask  or  expect  the  ne 
gro  to  feel  or  act  as  we  do,  simply  because  the 
great  Creator  of  all  has  given  him  but  one  talent, 
while  he  has  given  to  us  ten  talents.  It  is  our 
duty,  as  the  superior  race,  to  care  for  these  people 
whom  God,  in  his  Providence,  has  given  us.  "We 
should  try  to  understand  their  natures,  their  ca 
pacities,  and  their  wants,  and  then  adapt  our  laws 
so  that  they  will  be  in  the  happiest,  the  healthiest 
and  best  condition  it  is  possible  for  them  to  attain. 
That  was  what  the  Southern  people  tried  to  do., 
and  though  no  society  is  perfect,  yet  all  must  ad 
mit  that  the  negroes  Were  better  off  every  way  be 
fore  the  war  than  now.  A  million,  it  is  estimated, 
have  died  in  the  effort  to  make  them  act  like  white 
people.  Every  young  person  can  see  how  wicked 
it  would  be  to  take  an  ox  and  try  to  make  it  go  as 
fast  as  a  horse,  and  yet  it  is  no  more  sinful  nor 
4 


48  THE    CAUSES    OF   THE    WAR, 

cruel  than  to  take  the  negroes  and  demand  that 
they  shall  act  the  same  as  white  people.  As  it 
would  kill  the  ox  to  try  to  make  him  a  horse,  so  it 
.,kills  the  negro  to  try  and  make  him  a  white  man. 
\  I  have  explained  this  at  some  length  because  it 
is  so  important  to  understand  it,  and  because  it  is 
really  so  simple  when  understood  that  any  one  can 
comprehend  it.  Every  person  can  readily  see  how 
cruel  it  would  be  to  deprive  all  children  of  their 
fathers  and  mothers,  and  yet  it  was  no  more  cruel 
than  to  deprive,  at  a  single  blow,  every  negro  in 
the  South  of  the  care  and  protection  of  his  master 
and  mistress.  Thousands  of  these  poor  creatures 
nave  died  of  small  pox  and  other  loathsome  dis 
eases.  Hundreds  have  starved  to  death  or  died 
of  exposure,  and  all  because  of  the  false  teachings 
of  the  abolitionists,  who  deceived  the  people,  and 
told  them  that  society  as  it  existed  at  the  South 
was  "  a  sin  and  a  crime." 

The  abolitionists,  however,  did  not  stop  here. 
They  declared  that  the  Government,  as  it  was 
formed  by  Washington,  Jefferson,  and  Madison, 
protected  the  Southern  people  in  their  form  of  so 
ciety.  And  this  was,  of  course,  true  ;  for  it  is  not 
within  the  bounds  of  reason  to  suppose  that  those 
men,  all  of  whom  were  "slaveholders,"  would  have 
organized  a  government  against  themselves !  I 
have  already  shown  you  how  the  old  Federalists 
hated  the  Government ;  and  you  will  now  see  how 
this  same  spirit  was  breathed  forth  by  the  abo 
litionists. 

William  Lloyd  Garrison,  who  has  been  called 


THE    CAUSES    OF   TUB    WAR.  49 

the  father  of  the  abolition  societies,  inaugurated 
his  abolition  movement  by  publicly  burning  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States.  Many  years 
after  this  infamous  act,  he  declared  in  a  speech  : 
"  No  act  of  ours  do  we  regard  with  more  conscien 
tious  approval  or  higher  satisfaction,  than  when, 
several  years  ago,  on  the  4th  of  July,  in  the  pres 
ence  of  a  great  assembly,  we  committed  to  the 
flames  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States." 
Again  he  says  :  "  This  Union  is  a  lie  !  The  Amer 
ican  Union  is  an  imposture  —  a  covenant  with 
death,  and  an  agreement  with  hell.  I  am  for  its 
overthrow !  Up  with  the  flag  of  disunion  !" 

Wendell  Phillips,  the  ablest  and  honestest  of  all 
the  abolition  leaders,  declared  the  object  of  the 
agitation  to  be  the  overthrow  of  the  Constitution. 
He  said  :  "  The  Constitution  of  our  fathers  was  a 
mistake.  Tear  it  to  pieces  and  make  a  better  one. 
Our  aim  is  disunion,  breaking  up  of  the  States." 

A  resolution  passed  at  an  annual  abolition  con 
vention  reads  as  follows  :  "  Eesolved,  that  the 
abolitionists  of  this  country  should  make  it  one  of 
the  primary  objects  of  this  agitation  to  dissolve  the 
American  Union." 

Thus  boldly  and  wickedly  did  these  men  assail 
the  Government  of  our  fathers.  You  have  no 
doubt  heard  Mr.  Calhoun  of  South  Carolina  called 
"  the  father  of  disunion,"  but  the  history  I  have 
already  given  you  shows  that  disunionism  arose  in 
the  North.  Mr.  Calhoun,  in  a  speech  in  the  Senato 
of  the  United  States,  March  7th,  1850,  delivered 
while  he  knew  himself  to  be  a  dying  man,  said  : 


50  THE    CAUSES    OF   THE    WAR. 

"  No  man  would  feel  more  happy  than  myself  to 
believe  that  this  Union,  formed  by  our  ancestors, 
should  live  forever.  Looking  back  to  the  long 
course  of  forty  years'  service  here,  I  have  the  con 
solation  to  believe  that  I  have  never  done  one  act 
to  weaken  it — that  I  have  done  full  justice  to  all 
sections.  And  if  I  have  ever  been  exposed  to  the 
imputation  of  a  contrary  motive,  it  is  because  I 
have  been  willing  to  defend  my  section  from  un 
constitutional  encroachments." 

In  a  speech  made  by  the  same  great  statesman 
in  the  Senate,  nearly  thirty  years  ago,  that  is  in 
1838,  he  said  :  "  Abolition  is  the  only  question  of 
sufficient  magnitude  and  potency  to  divide  this 
Union,  and  divide  it  it  will,  or  drench  the  country 
in  blood  if  not  arrested.  There  are  those  who  see 
no  danger  to  the  Union  in  the  violation  of  all  fun 
damental  principles,  but  who  are  full  of  apprehen 
sion  when  danger  is  foretold,  and  who  hold,  not 
the  authors  of  the  danger,  but  those  who  fore 
warned  it,  responsible  for  the  consequences.  If 
my  attachment  for  the  Union  were  less,  I  might 
tamper  with  the  deep  disease  which  now  afflicts 
the  body  politic,  and  keep  silent  until  the  patient 
was  ready  to  sink  under  the  mortal  blows." 

Jefferson  Davis,  in  a  speech  in  the  United  States! 
Senate,  June  27th,  1850,  said :  "  If  I  have  a  super 
stition,  sir,  which  governs  my  mind  and  holds  it 
captive,  it  is  a  superstitious  reverence  for  the 
Union.  If  one  can  inherit  a  sentiment,  I  may  be 
said  to  have  inherited  this  from  my  revolutionary 
father." 


THE   CAUSES    OF   THE    WAS.  5j 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  at  the  very  time  that 
the  abolitionists  were  preaching  up  a  mad  crusade 
against  the  Union,  and  educating  a  generation  to 
hate  the  Government  of  our  fathers,  Southern 
men,  the  great  leaders  of  the  South  were  begging 
and  imploring  that  it  might  be  preserved. 


CHAPTEE  V. 

THE   CAUSES    OF   THE  WAE   CONTINUED. 

THE  abolition  movement,  however,  was  destined 
fco  undergo  a  change.  The  Garrisonian  abolition 
ists,  in  educating  a  generation  to  believe  that  the 
subordinate  position  of  the  negro  was  a  sin  and  a 
crime,  had  created  a  great  moral  power ;  but  after 
all  it  was  more  or  less  ineffective.  The  Constitu 
tion  and  Government  of"  our  forefathers  were 
so  interwoven  in  the  heart  of  every  honest  and 
patriotic  American,  that  the  denunciations  that  it 
was  "  a  covenant  with  hell,"  only  provoked  disgust 
or  excited  derision,  and  outside  of  the  few  delirious 
fanatics  whom  they  addressed,  it  exerted  no  in 
fluence.  They  might  have  preached  a  hundred 
years  probably,  and  would  never  have  destroyed 
the  relation  of  the  races,  or  broken  up  the  Union  in 
that  way.  But,  as  the  Whig  party  dissolved  after 
the  bank  and  tariff  questions  had,  it  was  hoped, 
forever  been  disposed  of,  the  old  Federal  Haro.il- 
tonian  element  in  that  party  looked  around  for 
some  new  issue  upon  which  to  delude  the  people. 

About  this  time,  that  is,  from  1850  to  1854, 
there  came  prominently  into  public  view  a  cun 
ning,  crafty,  and  entirely  unscrupulous  politician 
in  the  State  of  New  York,  by  the  name  of  William 


THE   CAUSES    OF   THE    WAB.  53 

H.  Seward.  He  had  been  Governor  of  the  State, 
and  was  at  this  time  Senator  in  Congress.  He 
was  a  Hamiltonian  Federalist.  But  more  than 
any  other  man  he  seemed  to  comprehend  "the 
situation."  He  saw  that  the  abolitionists  had,  by 
their  thirty  years'  education  of  the  popular  mind, 
created  a  great  hatred  in  the  North  against  the 
South,  and  he  determined  to  use  this  to  obtain 
power.  He  had  raised  an  excitement  in  the  State 
of  New  York  against  the  Free  Masons  to  get  power 
there,  and  why  might  he  not  do  the  same  thing 
again  on  &  larger  scale.  He  went  to  work  at  this 
with  great  cunning  and  subtlety.  He  sa^r  at  a 
glance  that  Garrison's  programme  of  the  open  de 
nunciation  of  the  Constitution  and  the  Union 
would  not  answer.  Mr.  Garrison  said,  and  said 
truly,  "  the  Constitution  protects  slavery." 

Mr.  Seward  inaugurated  his  plan  of  battle  by  de 
claring  (see  his  Works,  vol.  iii.  p.  301) :  "  Correct 
your  error  that  slavery  has  any  constitutional  guar 
antees  which  may  not  be  released  and  ought  not  to  be 
relinquished."  Again  says  Mr.  Seward  (vol.  i.  p.  71), 
"  you  answer  that  the  Constitution  recognizes  pro 
perty  in  slaves.  It  would  be  sufficient,  then,  to 
reply  that  the  constitutional  recognition  must  be 
void,  because  it  is  repugnant  to  the  law  of  nature 
and  of  nations."  Here  Mr.  Seward  sets  up  his  idea 
of  the  laws  of  nature  and  of  nations  against  the 
solemn  compact  of  our  forefathers.  But  he  went 
further ;  he  declared  that  there  was  an  "  irrepressi 
ble  conflict"  between  Northern  and  Southern  so 
ciety,  that  "  slavery  must  be  abolished,"  that  there 


54  THE   CAUSES  OF   THE   WAK. 

was  "  a  higher  law"  than  the  Constitution,  that  "it 
was  for  the  South  to  decide  whether  they  would 
have  slavery  removed  gradually,  or  whether  they 
would  have  disunion  and  civil  war." 

Such  was  the  wicked  programme  that  this  wily 
politician  laid  out  for  the  ruin  of  this  country 
Garrison  would  have  been  willing  to  have  separated 
from  the  South  and  let  her  alone  in  the  enjoyment 
of  her  rights,  but  Mr.  Seward  aimed  at  nothing 
less  than  seizing  upon  the  Government  through  a 
sectional  party  and  consolidating  in  it  all  power 
as  the  old  Federalists  had  desired,  and  thus  have 
one  despotic  government  over  the  whole  country. 

He  accordingly  organized  his  scattered  forces  in  a 
new  party.  On  the  26th  of  September,  1854,  a  con 
vention  was  called  to  meet  at  Auburn,  the  home  of 
Wm.  H.  Seward,  the  object  of  which  was  announced 
to  be  "  to  organize  a  Republican  party  which  should 
represent  the  friends  of  freedom"  which  means,  of 
course,  the  friends  of  negro  freedom,  for  no  white 
men  were  deprived  of  their  freedom  then.  This 
meeting  recommended  that  a  convention  of  del 
egates  from  the  Northern  States  only,  be  held 
on  the  4th  of  July,  1856,  to  nominate  candidates 
for  President  and  Vice-President  of  all  the  United 
States.  This  convention  afterwards  met,  and  nomi 
nated  Fremont  and  Dayton. 

When  the  Seward  Republican  party  was  first    ' 
organized,  some  of  the  abolitionists  thought  it  did 
not  go  far  enough,  but  Wendell  Phillips,  with  his 
sagacity,  saw  that  its  programme  was  a  cunning 
one.     He  declared  "  that  it  was  the  first  crack  in 


THE   CAUSES    OF   THE   WAR  5& 

the  iceberg.     It  is  the  first  sectional  party  ever  Jl 
organized  in  this  country.     It  is  pledged  against  the  i 
South." 

This  new  party  soon  swept  into  it  all  those  who 
had  been  deluded  by  the  abolition  teachings.  It 
made  loud  protestations  of  devotion  to  "free 
speech,  free  press,  and  free  men."  It  pretended  to 
more  and  better  republicanism  than  the  democ 
racy,  for  it  desired  to  apply  republicanism  to  ne 
groes.  Hence  it  very  properly  got  the  name  of 
Black  Republican,  for  it  bore  no  more  resemblance 
to  genuine  republicanism  than  an  old  Federalist 
did  to  a  Jeffersonian  Democrat. 

And  strange  to  say,  this  Tory,  British  party  in 
disguise  actually  seized  hold  of  the  name  of  Jeffer 
son  to  delude  the  people.  They  even  perverted 
the  glorious  Declaration  of  Independence  from  its 
plain  meaning,  and  tortured  it  into  an  excuse  for 
negro  equality.  When  Mr.  Jefferson  said  "  all 
men  were  created  equal/'  he  referred  to  his  own 
race  and  to  no  others,  for  if  he  meant  negroes 
then  he  was  himself  insincere,  for  he  should  have 
"  freed"  his  own  on  the  spot,  which  he  did  not  do. 

In  a  word,  there  was  no  deception  that  this 
party  did  not  resort  to.  No  effort  to  influence  the 
public  mind  was  spared.  The  South  was  univer 
sally  denounced,  >nd  whei*  warned  by  democrats 
that  the  Southern  men  would  not  live  under  a 
government  which  was  to  be  administered  to  de 
stroy  them,  they  laughed  the  warning  to  scorn. 
The  North  was  strong  enough,  if  all  the  States 
could  be  secured,  to  elect  a  President  in  spite  of 


56  THE    CAUSES    OF   THE   WAK. 

the   South,  and  this  they  determined  to  do.     If 
they  could  accomplish  this,  they  could  revolution 
ize  the  Government  by  engrafting  on  it  the  mon^ 
archical   doctrines   of    Hamilton   and  the   negro 
f  "quality  theories  of  Garrison,  and  so  both  would 
e   satisfied.      This,  then,  was  the  object  of  the 
Bkck  ^Republican  party  leaders.     They  desired  to  | 
overthrow  the  Government  as  it  was  formed.    HOY?  j 
they  succeeded  this  history  will  tell 

About  this  time  occurred  the  great  Kansas  ex 
citement.  This  was  a  new  territory  west  of  the 
State  of  Missouri.  When  it  seemed  probable  that 
it  would  be  mainly  settled  by  Southern  men,  the 
people  of  New  England  organized  "  Emigrant  So 
cieties/'  and  filled  it  up  with  abolitionists,  so  as  to 
prevent  it  from  becoming  what  they  called  a  slave 
State.  They  also  raised  large  sums  of  money  and 
purchased  arms  and  ammunition,  and  sent  out 
men  there,  prominent  among  whom  was  old  John 
Brown,  to  get  up  a  war  if  they  could. 

The  churches  of  New  England  were  very  active 
in  this  business,  and  the  abolition  clergy  all  over 
were  zealous  workers  in  inciting  to  bloodshed. 
One  minister,  the  Eev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  de 
clared  that  "Sharp's  rifles  were  better  than  Bi 
bles,"  and  "  that  it  was  a  crime  to  shoot  at  a  slave 
holder  and  not  hit  him/'  All  over  the  North,  but 
mainly  in  New  England,  this  insanity  was  preva 
lent.  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  distributed  guna 
and  rifles  for  the  work  of  bloodshed.  The  North 
was  being  glowly  educated  for  the  great  war  thai 
followed. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   ELECTION   OF   LINCOLN. 

I  HAVE  already  shown  you  that  there  has  been, 
here  in  the  North,  ever  since  the  formation  of  the 
Federal  Government,  a  powerful  party  opposed  to 
the  Union  as  it  was  formed.  But  during  all  this 
long  period,  there  was  never  a  single  statesman  in 
the  Southern  States  who  was  not  devotedly  in 
favor  of  the  Union  as  it  was  organized  by  our  pa 
triotic  forefathers.  The  South  was  united  in  its 
admiration  of  the  principles  of  government  on 
which  the  Union  was  founded.  On  this  subject 
the  North  was  divided.  The  Democratic  party 
was  attached  to  the  Union,  and  was  devoted  to 
the  principles  on  which  it  was  established,  while 
the  Black  Republican  party  was  an  enemy  both  to 
the  Union  and  the  Constitution. 

These  Black  Republicans,  for  many  years,  used 
to  mockingly  call  Democrats  "  Union-savers."  But 
as  I  have  said,  there  were  also  two  factions  among 
the  Black  Republicans  themselves — one,  that  of  the 
fanatical  abolitionists,  and  the  other,  the  enemy  of 
the  democratic  form  of  government,  as  you  have 
seen  in  the  history  of  the  old  Federalists.  This 
latter  faction  was  an  adherent  to  the  exploded  mon- 


H 


58  THE    ELECTION    OF    LINCOLN. 

archical  principles  of  Alexander  Hamilton.  They 
wanted  to  destroy  these  States  and  establish  one 
great  despotic  government,  or  empire,  over  all 
this  country.  Their  plan  was  foreshadowed  in  a 
speech  by  Governor  Banks  of  Massachusetts,  in 
1856,  in  which  he  said  :  "  I  can  conceive  of  a  time 
when  this  Constitution  shall  not  be  in  existence — 
when  we  shall  have  an  absolute  dictatorial  govern 
ment,*  transmitted  from  age  to  age,  with  men  at 
its  head  who  are  made  rulers  by  military  commis 
sion,  or  who  claim  an  hereditary  right  to  govern 
those  over  whom  they  are  placed." 

When  the  war  broke  out,  this  same  Governor 
Banks  became  a  general,  and  in  a  speech  made  at 
Arlington  Heights,  he  pointed  to  the  Capitol  in 
Washington,  and  said  :  "  When  this  war  is  over,, 
that  will  be  the  Capitol  of  a  great  nation.  Then 
there  will  be  no  longer  New  Yorkers,  Pennsylva- 
nians,  Virginians,  etc.,  but  we  shall  all  be  simply 
Americans." 

The  meaning  was  that  the  war  would  result  in 
the  destruction  of  all  the  State  governments,  and 
consolidate  them  into  one  great  despotic  govern 
ment.  The  same  idea  was  expressed  by  Senator 
Cameron,  at  a  public  dinner  in  Washington  at 
about  the  same  time. 

But  both  of  these  factions — that  is,  the  abol* 
ifcionists  and  the  disciples  of  Hamiltonian  moii- 


*  This  was  precisely  the  kind  of  government  the  Black 
Republican  party  did  force  upon  the  country  in  the  Adminis> 
tration  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 


THE    ELECTION    OF   LINCOLN.  69 

archism,  were  agreed  in  their  desire  of  revolution-  I  j 
izing  the  Government.  Nothing  that  the  South  \\ 
could  have  done,  short  of  an  entire  surrender  of 
their  institutions  and  their  rights  as  States,  could 
have  satisfied  them.  The  people  of  the  Southern 
States  honestly  believed  that  their  society  and 
their  lives  would  not  be  safe  in  the  Union  as  ad 
ministered  by  these  men.  The  presidential  cam 
paign,  which  resulted  in  the  election  of  Mr.  Lin 
coln,  had  been  conducted  with  such  a  spirit  of 
violence  and  malignity  towards  the  South  that 
it  might  well  alarm  the  people  of  that  section. 
An  infamous  and  murderous  work,  known  as 
the  "Helper  Book"  which  had  been  published 
one  year  before,  and  a  hundred  thousand  copies 
of  it  circulated  by  subscription  of  the  leading 
Black  Republican  members  of  Congress,  was 
the  chief  campaign  document  of  the  Lincoln 
canvass.  This  horrid  book  plainly  threatened 
the  people  of  the  South  with  assassination  and 
death.  It  was  full  of  such  sentences  as  the  fol 
lowing  : 

"Against  slaveholders  as  a  body  we  wage  an 
exterminating  war." 

It  counseled  the  North — "Do  not  reserve  the 
strength  of  your  arms  until  you  are  rendered  pow 
erless  to  strike." 

"We  contend  that  slaveholders  are  more  crimi 
nal  than  common  murderers." 

"  The  negroes,  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  would  be 
delighted  at  the  opportunity  to  cut  their  masters 
throats." 


60  THE   ELECT-ION    OF    LINCOLN. 

"  Small  pox  is  a  nuisance  ;  strychnine  is  a  nui 
sance  ;  mad  dogs  are  a  nuisance ;  slavery  is  a 
nuisance ;  and  so  are  slaveholders  ;  it  is  our  busi 
ness,  nay,  it  is  our  imperative  duty,  to  abate  nui 
sances  ;  we  propose,  therefore,  with  the  exception 
of  strychnine,  to  exterminate  this  catalogue  from  be' 
ginning  to  end." 

A  book  of  three  hundred  pages  filled  with  such 
horrid  threats  as  these,  and  circulated  as  a  cam 
paign  document  in  the  canvass  that  elected  Mr. 
Lincoln,  might  well  fill  the  South  with  alarm.  I 
have  said  that  all  the  leading  Black  Republican 
members  of  Congress  subscribed  for  the  free  dis 
tribution  of  one  hundred  thousand  copies  of  this 
work.  Mr.  Seward  gave  it  his  especial  endorse 
ment,  in  a  card  which  declared  it  "  a  work  of  great 
merit."  The  book  had  been  preceded  by  speeches 
from  Northern  politicians  scarcely  less  brutal  in 
tone.  Mr.  Giddings,  a  prominent  politician  in 
Ohio,  had  said  : 

"  I  look  forward  to  a  day  when  I  shall  see  a  ser 
vile  insurrection  in  the  South.  When  the  black 
men,  supplied  with  bayonets,  shall  wage  a  war  of 
extermination  against  the  whites — when  the  mas 
ter  shall  see  his  dwelling  in  flames,  and  his 
Hearth  polluted,  and  though  I  may  not  mock 
at  their  calamity  and  laugh  when  their  lea* 
cometh,  yet  I  shall  hail  it  as  the  dawn  of  a  polit* 
ical  millenium." 

The  Hon.  Erastus  Hopkins  had  said  :  "If  peace 
ful  means  fail  us,  and  we  are  driven  to  the  last  ex- 


THE    ELECTION    OF   LINCOLN.  61 

tremity,  when  ballots  are  useless,  then  we  will 
make  bullets  effective." 

For  many  years  Northern  pulpits  and  Northern 
newspapers  had  teemed  with  such  bloody  threats 
as  these  against  the  people  of  the  South.  And 
loss  than  two  years  before  the  election  of  Mr.  Lin 
coln,  "Old  John  Brown,"  a  notorious  murderer 
from  Kansas,  who  was  a  native  of  New  England, 
went  into  Virginia  with  a  posse  of  assassins,  for 
the  purpose  of  getting  up  an  insurrection  among 
the  negroes,  to  murder  the  white  men,  women  and 
children.  Brown's  gang  was  armed  with  pikes 
made  in  New  England,  and  with  plenty  of  ammu 
nition  and  fire-arms  purchased  by  money  secretly 
contributed  in  the  North.  The  whole  plot  was 
discovered,  and  he  was  tried  and  hanged.  The 
execution  of  this  admitted  assassin  produced  a 
fearful  outbreak  of  threats  and  fury  in  the  North. 
Prayer-meetings  were  held  in  nearly  all  the 
churches  of  New  England,  and  indeed  throughout 
the  West,  to  invoke  the  vengeance  of  heaven  on 
those  who  had  caused  the  just  penalties  of  the  law 
to  fall  upon  one  of  the  most  pitiless  murderers 
ever  known  in  this  country.  And  yet  bells  were 
tolled  to  glorify  the  memory  of  this  fiend. 

As  my  readers  may  not  have  heard  of  Brown's 
terrible  murder  of  Mr.  Doyle  and  his  two  sons  in 
Kansas,  I  will  relate  it.  He  went  to  the  house  about 
midnight  with  a  gang  of  men,  and  told  him  that 
he  and  his  two  sons  were  wanted  as  witnesses  upon 
an  "  Investigating  Committee,"  and  that  they  had 
been  sent  to  summon  them.  No  sooner  had  they 
5 


62  THE    ELECTION    OF    LINCOLN. 

got  them  in  the  yard  than  they  killed  all  three  in 
cold  blood.  The  poor  heart-broken  wife  and  mother 
of  the  murdered  men  went  almost  crazy  with  grief, 
when  the  fiends  returned  to  the  house  and  threat 
ened  to  shoot  herself  and  only  son.  Mrs.  Doyle 
fell  on  her  bended  knees,  and  implored  for  mercy 
for  herself  and  only  child.  After  a  while  the  ?il- 
lains  left  the  poor  woman  and  her  son  to  the 
sorrowful  sight  of  the  three  corpses  in  their  door 
yard. 

At  a  meeting  in  Massachusetts,  attended  by 
United  States  Senator  Henry  Wilson,  the  follow 
ing  resolution  was  unanimously  passed  : 

"  Resolved,  that  it  is  the  right  and  duty  of  slaves 
to  resist  their  masters,  and  the  right  and  duty  of 
the  people  of  the  North  to  incite  them  to  resistance, 
and  to  aid  them  in  it." 

At  Eochford,  Illinois,  a  public  meeting,  called 
by  the  leading  citizens,  unanimously  "Resolved 
that  the  city  bells  be  tolled  one  hour  in  commemo 
ration  of  John  Brown." 

Horace  Greeley  said  :  "  Let  no  one  doubt  that 
history  will  accord  an  honorable  niche  to  old  John 
Brown." 

Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  declared  that  the  hang 
ing  of  this  assassin  "  made  the  gallows  as  glorious 
as  the  cross." 

Again  said  Emerson  :  "  Our  Captain  Brown  iss 
happily,  a  representative  of  the  American  Repub 
lic.  He  did  not  believe  in  moral  suasion,  but  in 
putting  things  through." 

This  terrible  temper  pervaded  the  whole  North. 


THE    ELECTION   OF    LINCOLN.  63 

A  book  of  a  thousand  pages  might  be  made  of  ex 
tracts  from  sermons,  prayers,  speeches  and  news 
papers,  of  a  similar  character. 

Can  we  wonder  that,  under  such  a  state  of 
things,  the  Southern  people  should  have  felt  it  ne 
cessary  to  take  some  steps  for  their  own  safety  ? 
In  the  midst  of  this  wild  excitement  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  nominated  for  the  presidency  by  the  party 
which  had  so  universally  endorsed  old  John 
Brown's  murderous  raid  into  Virginia.  He  was 
nominated  at  Chicago,  in  a  temporary  edifice  built 
for  the  purpose,  and,  as  if  indicating  the  designs 
of  the  party,  called  a  "  wigwam."  Over  the  chair 
of  the  president  of  the  nominating  convention  was 
placed  a  huge  wooden  knife  twelve  feet  long,  a  fit 
ting  foreshadowing  of  the  bloody  designs  of  the 
party  putting  him  forward.  At  least  the  people 
of  the  South  so  interpreted  it  ;  and  they  de 
manded  some  pledges,  that  the  threats  put  forth 
in  the  Helper  book  should  not  be  visited  upon 
them. 

In  answer  to  these  reasonable  demands,  they 
received  only  sneers,  reproaches,  and  more  threats. 
When  they  declared  that  "unless  they  could 
have  their  rights  in  the  Union  they  would  with 
draw,"  they  were  answered,  that  "  the  North 
could  not  kick  them  out  of  the  Union."  The  truth 
is,  that  war  was  resolved  upon  by  the  Black  Re 
publican  leaders.  I  shall  show  you  in  another 
chapter  what  cunning  tricks  were  resorted  to  by 
Mr.  Lincoln  and  Mr.  Seward  to  bring  about  what 
was  called  "  an  overt  act"  on  the  part  of  the  South 


04  THE   ELECTION    OF   LINCOLX. 

If  I  failed  to  lay  this  whole  matter  out  truly  be 
fore  you,  I  should  make  myself  a  party  to  the 
monstrous  falsehoods  which  have  been  put  forth 
as  history  on  this  point.  The  whole  Southern  peo 
ple  had  always  been  contented  with  the  "Union  as 
it  was  established  by  our  forefathers.  They  never 
talked  of  secession,  except  as  a  remedy  for  aggres-  / 
Bions  upon  their  constitutional  rights.  On  the  '  -  ' 
contrary,  in  the  North,  as  you  have  seen,  there  has/'  \ 
always  been  a  busy  and  determined  party,  which  \ 
has  been  working  to  overthrow  the  Union,  because 
it  hated  the  Constitution,  and  was  at  enmity  with 
the  South  from  an  old  grudge,  growing  out  of  the 
early  conflict  between  the  monarchical  principles 
of  Alexander  Hamilton  and  the  democratic  princi 
ples  of  Thomas  Jefferson.  This  old  hatred  on  the 
part  of  the  North,  which  had  been  brewing  and 
smouldering  ever  since  the  establishment  of  the 
Government,  was  now  recruited  by  the  fiery  and 
fanatical  element  of  abolition  to  such  a  degree  that 
the  conflict,  long  threatened  by  the  Northern  mal 
contents,  and  dreaded  by  the  South,  burst  upon 
the  country.  Failing,  as  they  thought,  to  receive 
any  guarantees  of  security  and  rest  in  the  "Union, 
the  Southern  States  determined  to  withdraw.  All 
but  South  Carolina  came  to  this  conclusion  slowly 
and  unwillingly. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

SECESSION. 

IN  the  fall  of  1860  Mr.  Lincoln  was  elected 
President  by  a  party  and  by  men  such  as  I  have 
described  in  the  last  chapter.  H©  carried  every 
Northern  State  except  New  Jersey,  and  received  a 
majority  of  the  electoral  votes,  but  not  a  majority 
of  all  the  people.  You  know  the  President  is 
elected  by  the  States,  not  by  the  people — that  is  to 
say,  each  State  gives  as  many  votes  for  President 
as  it  has  representatives  and  senators  in  Congress. 
Mr.  Lincoln  had  a  majority  of  these,  but  he  was 
nearly  a  million  and  a  half  in  the  minority,  count 
ing  the  votes  of  all  the  people.  But  although  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  elected  by  what  is  called  State 
Bights,  yet  he  went  to  work  at  once  to  destroy 
State  Bights,  as  we  shall  soon  see. 

The  Southern  people  were,  of  course,  greatly 
alarmed  when  the  result  was  known.  The  party 
coming  into  power  had  declared  war  against  them. 
True  the  Chicago  Platform  was  cautiously  worded, 
but  it  is  the  spirit  and  temper  of  a  political  party 
which  give  the  true  meaning  of  its  purposes.  I 
have  shown  you  fully  what  these  were,  from  the 
mouths  of  its  leading  men. 

And  I  may  mention  here  as  a  singular  fact  that 


66  SECESSION. 

Joshua  R.  Giddings,  of  Ohio,  who  was  known  all 
his  life  as  an  out  and  out  abolitionist,  declared  in 
the  Chicago  Convention  that  its  nominees  could 
not  get  the  support  of  the  abolitionists  unless  the 
resolutions  pledged  the  party  to  carry  out  the 
doctrine  that  "all  men  are  created  equal."  I  have 
already  mentioned  that  the  abolitionists  meant  by 
this  phrase  to  include  negroes.  The  Chicago  Con 
vention,  therefore,  according  to  their  own  inter 
pretation  of  its  resolutions,  was  pledged  to  change 
Southern  society,  and  make  the  negro  the  equal 
of  the  white  man.  How  then  can  any  Black  Re 
publican  pretend  that  their  own  party  platform 
was  not  an  open  declaration  of  war  upon  the  South  ? 
Although  they  cunningly  disguised  their  inten 
tions  by  making  a  false  use  of  a  popular  phrase, 
they  did  not  deceive  the  Southern  people.  They 
instinctively  knew  that  this  party  meant  to  over 
throw  their  society,  "  peaceably,  perhaps,  if  they 
were  permitted  to  do  so,  but  forcibly  if  they  must." 
Mr.  Seward  himself  avowed  this  sentiment  in  a 
speech  in  the  United  States  Senate,  March  llth, 
.JL860. 

The  means  which  the  Southern  States  resoivbd 
to  resort  to,  in  order,  if  possible,  to  save  themselves 
from  this  calamity,  was  what  has  been  called  se 
cession — that  is,  to  withdraw  from  the  Union  01 
Confederacy.  The  States  had  all  joined  the  Con 
federacy  by  their  own  act.  There  had  been  no 
compulsion  used,  and  it  had  been  held  by  the 
wisest  and  best  men,  both  North  and  South,  that 
the  States,  having  only  delegated  the  exercise  of 

'L 


SECESSION.  87 


certain  powers  to  the  Federal  Government,  could 
resume  them  whenever  they  felt  that  their  inter 
ests  and  welfare  demanded  it.  If  this  was  not 
the  case  it  was  held  that  it  made  the  Federal  Gov 
ernment  the  judge  of  its  own  powers,  and  that  ia 
the  definition  of  a  despotism. 

I  will  now  give  you  the  opinions  of  some  of  the 
old  Federalists,  as  well  as  others,  on  the  right  of 
secession.  Josiah  Quiiicy,  of  Massachusetts,  was 
one  of  the  bitterest  of  all  the  Federalists,  and  it 
only  goes  to  show  that  the  Black  Kepublican 
party  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  old  Tory  Federal 
ism,  when  I  tell  you  that  this  man,  Josiah  Quincy, 
lived  to  a  great  age,  and  became  a  warm  sup 
porter  of  Mr.  Lincoln  and  the  abolitionists.  He 
was  a  member  of  Congress  during  Mr.  Jefferson's 
Administration,  and  violently  opposed  that  great 
statesman.  Mr.  Jefferson  saw  the  future  greatness 
of  this  country,  and  purchased  all  the  Louisiana 
Territory  of  France,  which  Mr.  Quincy  and  the  Fed 
eralists  opposed.  In  a  speech  in  1811,  against  the 
bill  to  admit  Louisiana  into  the  Union,  Mr.  Quincy 
said  that  if  it  passed  "  it  would  be  the  right  of  all, 
as  well  as  the  duty  of  some  of  the  States  to  pre 
pare  for  separation,  amicably  if  they  can,  forcibly 
if  they  must."  Some  member  called  Mr.  Quincy 
to  order  for  making  a  treasonable  utterance,  but 
the  House  of  Representatives  sustained  him. 

One  of  the  earliest  as  well  as  ablest  constitu 
tional  lawyers  in  our  country  was  Judge  William 
Bawle  of  Pennsylvania.  As  a  statesman  and  a 
patriot  he  ranked  very  high.  General  Washing- 


68  SECESSION. 

ton  appointed  him  District  Attorney  of  the  United 
States  in  1791,  and  afterwards  tendered  him  a  seat 
in  his  Cabinet.  In  his  work  entitled  "  Views  of  the 
United  States  Constitution,"  Judge  Sawle  says  : 

"It  depends  on  the  State  itself  to  retain  or  abol 
ish  the  principle  of  representation,  because  it  de 
pends  on  itself  whether  it  will  continue  a  member 
of  the  Union.  To  deny  this  right  would  be  incon 
sistent  with  the  principle  on  which  all  our  politi 
cal  systems  were  founded  ;  which  is,  that  the  peo 
ple  have  in  all  cases  a  right  to  determine  how  they 
will  be  governed.  The  States,  then,  may  wholly 
withdraw  from  the  Union,  but  while  they  continue, 
they  must  retain  the  character  of  representative 
republics." 

The  same  sentiment  was  briefly  expressed  by 
President  Jefferson  in  these  words  :  "  States  may 
wholly  withdraw  their  delegated  powers."  And 
again,  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Priestly,  in  1804,  he  said  : 
"  If  the  States  west  of  the  Alleghany  declare  them 
selves  a  separate  people,  we  are  incapable  of  a  sin 
gle  effort  to  retain  them.  Our  citizens  can  never 
be  induced,  either  as  militia  or  soldiers,  to  go 
there  to  cut  the  throats  of  their  own  brothers  or 
sons,  or  to  be  themselves  the  subjects  instead  of 
the  perpetrators  of  the  parricide." 

President  Madison  affirmed  the  same  principle, 
when  speaking  of  the  States  as  the  parties  to  the 
compact  which  formed  the  Union,  he  said  :  "  The 
parties  (i.  e.  the  States)  themselves  must  be  the 
judges,  in  the  last  resort,  whether  the  bargain 
made  has  b^en  preserved  or  broken  " 


SECESSION.  69 

Such,  indeed,  is  the  meaning  of  the  celebrated 
Resolutions  of  1798,  referred  to  in  a  previous 
chapter,  and  on  which  both  Jefferson  and  Madison 
were  elected  to  the  Presidency. 

But,  whether  a  State  had  or  had  not  the  right 
to  secede,  there  never  had  been  scarcely  a  differ 
ence  of  opinion  as  to  the  right  and  the  policy  of 
resorting  to  coercion.  Ex-President  John  Quincy 
Adanis,  in  1833,  speaking  of  secession,  said  that 
whenever  that  time  arrived  "it  would  be  bettei 
for  the  people  of  these  disunited  States  to  part  in 
friendship  from  each  other  rather  than  to  be 
held  together  by  constraint."  In  1850,  Mr.  S.  P. 
Chase,  now  Chief  Justice,  in  a  speech  in  the 
United  States  Senate,  declared  that  in  "the  case 
of  a  State  resuming  her  powers,  he  knew  of  no 
remedy  to  prevent  it."  Even  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Mr. 
Seward  avowed  this  doctrine  as  late  as  April, 
1861.  In  a  despatch  to  Mr.  Dayton,  our  minister 
to  France,  dated  April  10th,  1861,  Mr.  Lincoln  in 
structed  Mr.  Seward  to  say  :  "  That  he  (the  Presi 
dent)  was  not  disposed  to  reject  a  cardinal  dogma 
of  theirs  (the  seceders),  namely,  that  the  Federal 
Government  could  not  reduce  the  seceding  States 
to  obedience  by  conquest,  even  although  he  were 
disposed  to  question  the  proposition.  But  in  fact, 
the  President  wittingly  accepts  it  as  true." 

The  late  Mr.  Edward  Everett,  Feb.  2d,  1861, 
said  :  "  To  expect  to  hold  fifteen  States  in  the 
Union  by  force  is  preposterous.  *  *  *  If  our 
sister  States  must  leave  us,  in  the  name  of  heaven 
let  them  go  in  peace." 


70  SECESSION. 

Again  said  Mr.  Everett  :  "  The  suggestion  th»«, 
the  Union  can  be  maintained  by  numerical  pre 
dominance  and  military  prowess  of  one  section, 
exerted  to  coerce  the  other  into  submission,  is,  in 
my  judgment,  as  self-contradictory  as  it  is  danger 
ous.  It  comes  loaded  with  the  death-smell  from 
fields  wet  with  brothers'  blood.  If  the  vital 
principle  of  all  republican  governments  is  the 
'"  consent  of  the  governed,"  much  more  does  a 
union  of  co-equal  sovereign  States  require,  as  its 
basis,  the  harmony  of  its  members,  and  their 
voluntary  co-operation  in  its  organic  functions." 

The  leading  newspaper  organs  of  the  Black  Re 
publican  party  held  to  the  same  views.  The  New 
York  Tribune,  only  three  days  before  South  Caro 
lina  seceded,  said  "  that  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence  justified  her  in  doing  so."  Feb.  23d, 
1861,  the  editor  of  the  same  paper,  acknowledged 
to  be  the  exponent  of  the  Black  Republican  party, 
said  :  "  If  the  cotton  States  desire  to  form  an  in 
dependent  nation,  they  have  a  clear  moral  right  to 
do  so." 

In  the  face  of  all  this  history,  how  could  the 
South  imagine  that  the  North  would  construe  its 
withdrawal  to  be  an  act  of  treason?  Much  less 
could  it  reasonably  suppose  that  the  North  would 
wage  a  relentless  and  exterminating  war  for  an 
act  which  our  own  leading  statesmen  and  poli~ 
ticians  have  always  admitted  to  be,  in  the  last  re 
sort,  a  right.  No  fair-minded  person  can  doubt 
that  the  Southern  States  honestly  believed  that 
they  had  a  right — ir  the  language  both  of  "Wash- 


SECESSION.  71 

ington  and  Jefferson — "to  resume  their  delegated 
powers."  They  wished  and  intended  to  do  so  in 
peace.  Their  act  of  withdrawal  was,  in  no  sense,  a 
declaration  of  war  upon  the  Federal  Government. 
But  the  Federal  Government  made  war  en  them 
to  have  them  remain,  as  the  history  soon  to  be  re 
lated  will  clearly  show.  They  offered  and  en 
treated  peaceful  negociation  in  relation  to  all  the 
property  claimed  by  the  Federal  Government,  lo 
cated  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  withdrawing 
States.  The  forts  which  they  seized,  but  which 
they  expressed  a  willingness  to  pay  for,  were  ori 
ginally  built  for  the  protection  of  the  harbors  and 
cities  of  those  States.  They  could  not  have  been 
built  without  the  consent  and  co-operation  of  the 
States  within  whose  limits  they  were  erected. 

They  were,  indeed,  partnership  property  ;  and 
each  of  the  States  was  an  equal  party  in  the  own 
ership.  The  Federal  Government,  strictly  speak 
ing,  was  not  a  party  in  this  ownership  at  all,  but 
was  only  the  general  agent  of  the  real  parties,  that 
is,  the  several  States  composing  the  compact  of 
the  Union.  These  forts  were  the  joint  property 
of  all  the  States  ;  but  as  they  were  designed  each 
for  the  protection  of  the  States  where  they  were 
located,  it  was  held  that  such  forts  necessarily 
Went  with  the  withdrawing  States  to  which  they 
belonged.  If  South  Carolina  deprived  New  York 
of  its  share  of  the  ownership  in  the  forts  in  Charles 
ton  harbor,  South  Carolina  also  relinquished  its 
share  of  ownership  in  the  forts  in  the  harbor  of 
New  York. 


72  SECESSION. 

But  the  seceding  States  expressed  a  desire  to 
settle  all  these  matters  by  a  mutual  and  friendly 
agreement.  They  avowed  their  determination  to 
inflict  no  wrong  upon  others,  but  only  to  resume 
the  powers  they  had  delegated,  and  govern  them 
selves  without  the  interference  of  the  States  which 
they  honestly  believed  had  broken  the  compact 
made  by  our  forefathers.  They  were  neither 
rebels  by  law  nor  by  intention.  They  acted  upon 
what  they  believed  to  be  their  right,  and  upon 
what  had  been  the  understanding  of  a  very  great 
number  of  the  ablest  statesmen  and  patriots  our 
country  has  produced — and  upon  what  was  the 
unanimous  understanding  of  the  States  when  they 
adopted  the  '  Constitution.  Not  a  single  State 
would  have  become  a  member  of  the  Union  had  it 
imagined  that  the  Federal  Government  would  ever 
attempt  to  hold  them  in  it  by  war  and  bloodshed. 
Indeed  when  the  States  are  held  together  by  the 
bayonet,  the  government  is  no  longer  a  Union, 
but  a  Despotism.  It  ceases  to  be  the  government 
our  fathers  made,  and  becomes  a  tyranny  like  that 
of  Austria  or  Russia. 

The  South,  you  see  then,  made  no  war  on  the 
North  by  separating  from  us.  They  simply  exer 
cised  what  they  sincerely  believed  to  be  their 
right,  and  what  the  ablest  statesmen  of  the  North, 
and  the  wise  founders  of  our  Government,  ad 
mitted  to  be  such.  So  far  from  imagining  them 
selves  traitors,  they  religiously  believed  themselves 
patriots. 


SECESSION.  75 

Nor  did  the  leaders  of  the  party  which  opened 
war  upon  them,  believe  them  traitors.  These 
leaders,  you  have  seen,  were  old  disunionists. 
Some  of  them  had  been  talking  and  threatening 
secession  themselves  for  more  than  thirty  years,  as 
their  predecessors  had  for  more  than  forty  years 
before.  It  was  not  love  for  the  Union  that  caused 
them  to  wage  the  war.  It  was  hatred  of  the  South 
in  some,  a  foolish,  fanatical  love  of  negroes  in 
others,  and  still  in  others  a  traitorous  desire  to 
overthrow  the  free  Government  of  the  United 
States,  and  establish  a  consolidated  or  single  gov 
ernment,  after  annihilating  the  soversignty  of  the 
States. 

I  am  speaking  of  the  leaders.  The  mass  of  the 
soldiers  were  drawn  into  it,  some  by  patriotic 
motives,  and  some  without  a  definite  motive  of 
any  kind.  There  was  a  wild  and  senseless  ex 
citement,  which  drove  the  whole  community 
mad.  Men  did  not  reason — they  raved.  The  men 
who  attempted  to  reason  were  knocked  down. 
This  was  all  a  necessaiy  part  of  the  machinery  for 
working  up  the  war.  The  cunning  instigators 
knew  well  that  if  the  people  were  permitted  to  rea 
son,  and  to  talk  dispassionately  on  the  matter,  the 
war  fever  could  not  be  kept  up  a  single  hour. 
When  men  know  they  have  a  bad  cause,  they  do 
not  permit  discussion,  if  they  can  help  it.  So  the 
Black  Republican  leaders  contrived  to  have  every 
man  in  the  North  mobbed,  who  attempted  to  think 
and  argue  on  the  subject  of  the  war.  Men  were 
hurried  or  driven  into  the  army  like  sheep  into  a 


74  SECESSION. 

slaughter-pen.  The  least  intelligent  were  actually 
made  to  believe  that  the  South  was  making  war  on 
the  North,  when  all  the  time  it  was  the  North 
which  was  waging  war  upon  the  South,  as  you 
will  see  when  we  come  to  trace  the  conflict  stop 
by  step. 


ALEXANDER  H.   STEPHENS. 


Page  75. 


CHAPTEE  VIIL 

THE    POLICY  AOT>   OBJECTS   OF   SECESSION. 

WHILE  very  little,  if  any,  difference  of  opinion 
existed  at  the  South  as  to  the  right  of  secession, 
there  were  many  people  who  doubted  the  policy  of 
the  movement.  Prominent  among  these  was  tho 
Hon.  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  of  Georgia,  who  advis 
ed  against  the  step.  It  was  felt  by  snch  men  that  it 
was  going  to  place  great  power  in  the  hands  of  the 
Abolition  party,  who  might  then  set  themselves  up 
as  in  favor  of  the  Union,  and  use  the  very  pres 
tige  and  power  of  the  Government,  which  southern 
statesmen  had  mainly  created,  to  make  war  upon 
them.  They  distrusted  the  peaceful  professions  of 
the  Black  Republican  leaders,  who  were  talking 
against  coercion,  and  who  were  announcing  them 
selves  as  willing  "to  let  the  South  go." 

As  it  has  turned  out,  it  would  seem  that  these 
men  were  right ;  for  the  Abolition  party  did  raise 
large  armies  in  the  name  of  the  Union,  actually  to 
overthrow  it — to  subvert  its  form  of  government, 
and  to  bring  a  doom  on  the  southern  people  which 
words  cannot  describe.  However,  the  overwhelm 
ing  impulse  of  the  great  majority  of  the  Southern 
people  at  the  time  of  which  we  are  writing  was  to 


76        THE   POLICY    AND    OBJECTS    OF   SECESSION. 

get  away  from  the  North.  They  did  not  wish  ts 
be  associated  any  longer  with  a  people  the  majority 
of  whom  could  deliberately  elect  a  man  Presi 
dent  on  a  platform  of  avowed  hostility  to  their 
States.  They  desired  to  get  away  from,  people 
who  would  not  keep  their  compacts. 

Yet  they  wished  the  North  no  harm.  The  de 
bates  of  the  great  leaders  in  Congress  at  the  time 
of  withdrawing,  prove  that  they  went  more  in  sor 
row  than  in  anger.  They  evinced  indeed  a  great 
reluctance  to  go  ;  but  they  felt  that  the  North  had 
already  sundered  the  political  bands  made  by  our 
forefathers,  and  that  there  was  nothing  left  for 
them  but  to  go,  or  stay  and  acquiesce  in  the 
overthrow  of  their  Government.  They  chose  to 
go,  declaring  that  their  object  was  to  preserve 
and  perpetuate  the  sacred  principles  of  liberty 
and  self-government  which  our  forefathers  estab 
lished. 

General  Robert  E.  Lee,  in  a  letter  written  since 
the  war,  dated  January  6th,  1866,  says,  "All  the 
South  has  ever  asked  or  desired  is,  that  the  Union 
founded  by  our  forefathers  should  be  preserved, 
and  that  the  Government  as  it  was  originally  or 
ganized  should  be  administered  in  puirty  and 
truth."  Now  the  Abolitionists  could  not  say  this. 
They  desired  the  Government,  as  it  was  formed, 
overthrown.  General  Lee  desired  the  Govern 
ment  to  remain  just  as  it  was.  Mr.  Seward  said 
"  No,  Slavery  must  and  shall  be  abolished."  Mr. 
Lincoln  stood  on  the  same  platform. 

The  great  and  overwhelming  object  the  South 


.     THE   POLICY    AND    OBJECTS    OF   SECESSION.        77 

had  was  to  preserve  to  themselves  the  right  of  .-.elf- 
government,  and  thus  save  themselves  from  the 
horrible  consequences  of  amalgamation  and  social 
^death.  They  knew  from  their  practicalfknowledge 
of  the  negro  that  he  belonged  to  a  disMnct  species 
of  man  ;  that  his  brain,  his  bones,  his  shape,  his 
nerves,  in  fact  that  every  part  of  his  body  was  dif 
ferent  from  the  white  man's.  They  knew  that  he 
was  liable  to  different  diseases  from  the  white  man  ; 
that  he  required  the  care  and  protection  of  the 
superior  race.  They  knew  that  to  equalize  the 
races  was  simply  to  follow  tha  fate  of  Mexico  and 
^-Central  America. 

What  a  splendid  country  was  Mexico  while  under 
the  control  of  the  white  blood  of  the  pure  Spanish 
race !     Now  what  is  it,  after  the  white  blood  has 
all  become  mixed  and  diluted  by  amalgamation 
with  the  black  race  ?     When  the  black  race  held 
.    »      its  natural  position  of  subordination  to  the  white 
race,  Mexico  was    one  of   the  richest  and  most  j 
prosperous  countries  on  the  globe  ;  but  now  it  is 
one  of  the  meanest  and  most  contemptible.     The  \ 
white  man's  proud  and  glorious  civilization  has 
faded  out  on  the  dead  plain  of  amalgamation  and 
negro  equality.     The  white  blood  has  become  so 
muddy  and  polluted  by  admixture  with  the  inferior 
race,  that  no  lapse  of  time  can  ever  redeem  that  | 
population  from  the  utter  degradation  and  uncivi-   | 
'ization  into  which  it  has  fallen.     So  of  all  those 
once  rich  and  nourishing  countries  to  the  south  of 
the  United  States — since  the  abolition  of  negro  > 
subordination   to  the  white  race,  they   have   all  t 


78       THE    POLICY    AND    OBJECTS    OF    SECESSION. 

fallen  back  in  civilization,  and  sunken  down  in  a 
slough  of  social,  political,  and  moral  filth,  and 
wretchedness!  It  makes  the  heart  sick  to  con 
template  them. 

The  "West  India  Islands  which,  under  negro  ser 
vitude,  or  when  the  white  man  was  sole  master, 
were  among  the  richest  and  most  flourishing  spots 
on  the  globe,  now,  under  negro  equality,  are  the 
poorest  and  most  detested  sinks  of  sorrow  and 
pollution  that  oppress  the  imaginaton  of  man. 

To  save  the  most  beautiful  and  productive  por 
tion  of  our  country  from  a  similar  terrible  fate, 
was  the  great  motive  which  made  the  Southern 
States  desire  separation  from  the  abolitionized 
States  of  the  North.  To  save  our  country  from 
the  terrible  scourge  of  negro  amalgamation  and 
negro  equality,  which  the  Black  Republicans  are 
now  forcing  upon  us,  was  a  patriotic  and  sacred 
thought  in  the  minds  of  those  who  wished  no 
further  union  with  the  madmen  who  were  deter 
mined  to  force  the  shame  and  horror  of  negro 
equality  upon  us. 

God  only  can  tell  what  the  consequences  of  this 
amalgamation  policy  may  be  to  the  cause  of  liberty 
and  civilization  !  Unless  the  people  arise  and  put 
a  stop  to  the  further  progress  of  the  disgusting  and 
brutalizing  notions  of  negro  equality,  we  shall  in 
evitably  land  at  last  where  Mexico,  the  Central 
American  States,  and  the  West  India  Islands  have 
gone  already.  Negro  emancipation  and  negro 
equality  are  driving  us  on  that  fatal  shore  with 
alarming  rapidity,  A  mongrel  nation,  or  a  nation 


THE    POLICY     AJND    OBJECTS    OF    SECESSION.       79 

of  mixed  races,  never  yet  remained  free  and  pros 
perous. 

The  English,  Irish,  French,  Spanish  or  Germans 
may  amalgamate  without  detriment,  because  they 
are  only  different  families  of  the  same,  or  the  white 
race  ;  but  the  negro  being  of  a  different  and  lower 
race,  the  offspring  of  such  a  union  are  hybrids  or 
mongrels,  and  are  always  a  weak,  degraded,  and 
wretched  class  of  beings — as  inferior  to  the  white 
race  as  the  mule  is  to  the  horse. 

Such,  then,  were  the  points  involved  in  the 
policy  and  objects  of  secession.  If  the  Northern 
people  could  have  understood  the  great  wrong 
they  were  forcing  upon  the  South,  they  never 
would  have  blamed  her  for  seeking  to  save  herself 
•  from  the  degradation  of  amalgamation.  But  they 
had,  unfortunately,  been  made  to  believe  that  it  was 
wicked  to  hold  negroes  as  inferiors  of  white  peo 
ple.  They  did  not  understand  the  horrible  sin 
and  crime,  disease  and  death  involved  in  equaliz 
ing  races.  Hence  they  thought  that  the  South 
acted  "  without  good  cause." 

They  were  made  to  believe  that  she  resisted 
Lincoln's  election  from  mere  spite,  and  from  a 
long  cherished  desire  to  break  up  the  Union 
While  the  real  truth  was,  that  the  great  mass  of 
the  people  of  the  South  loved  and  cherished  the 
Union,  and  only  withdrew  from  it  when  they 
felt  themselves  not  only  compelled  to  do  so,  but 
actually  driven  out  by  the  abolition  party,  who 
came  into  possession  of  the  Government,  threaten 
ing  to  use  it  to  bring  upon  them  and  their  chil 


80          THE  POLICY   AND  OBJECTS  OF  SECESSION. 

dren  the  most  horrible  doom  that  can  possibly  be 
inflicted  upon  any  people. 

Iii  the  North,  where  there  are  but  few  negroes, 
it  is  difficult  to  understand  this  subject,  but  if  oui 
population  were  one  half  blacks,  we  would  very 
soon  begin  to  comprehend  what  it  meant  to  give 
the  negro  the  same  rights  as  the  white  man. 
Every  child  can  see  that  in  such  a  society  only  two 
things  are  possible.  Either  one  race  or  the  other 
would  be  master,  or  else  they  would  be  compelled 
to  fraternize — to  mingle,  and  with  that  comes  all 
the  horrible  consequences  we  have  just  depicted. 

In  the  light  of  subsequent  events,  nearly  all 
will  now  allow  that  the  South  made  a  mistake 
when  they  demanded  unconditional  separation. 
True,  they  had  many  reasons  to  lose  faith  in  the 
North,  and  to  believe  they  would  stand  by  no 
agreements  if  made.  But  if  they  had  said  all  the 
time,  "  we  stand  ready  to  resume  our  places  in  the 
Union,  when  you  of  the  North  give  us  plain  and 
distinct  pledges  and  guarantees  that  you  will 
abide  by  the  Constitution  and  Union  as  they  were 
formed,"  they  would  have  deprived  Mr.  Lincoln 
and  his  party  of  nine-tenths  of  their  capital. 
They  could  not  then  have  set  themselves  up  as 
"the  Union  party,"  while  in  fact  they  were  the 
real  disunion  party,  and  always  had  been.  Nor 
could  they  have  made  such  a  hue  and  cry  about 
"the  nag,"  which  they  had  denounced  as  a  "flaunt 
ing  lie." 

Perhaps  you  never  saw  the  verses  on  the  Amer 
ican  flag  which  the  Black  Republicans  circulated 


THE   POLICY  AND  OBJECTS  OF  SECESSION.        81 

in  tfc&i,  just  about  the  time  they  organized  their 
party,    I  will  give  you  two  of  them  : 

•*  All  hail  the  flaunting  lie 

The  stars  grow  pale  and  dim, 
The  stripes  are  bloody  scars — 
A  lie  the  vaunting  hymn. 

*•"  Tear  down  the  flaunting  lie, 
Half-mast  the  starry  flag, 
Insult  no  sunny  sky 

With  hate's  polluted  rag." 

Now  it  Joes  not  look  reasonable  that  a  political 
party  which  endorsed  such  poetry  could  have  been 
at  all  sincere  in  love  for  the  American  flag. 

They  simply  put  forth  the  cry  of  "  the  Union," 
And  "the  flag,"  to  get  the  war  started.  After 
which  they  believed  they  could  use  it  to  accom 
plish  their  real  purposes,  which  were  the  over 
throw  of  our  form  of  government,  and  its  revolu 
tion  from  a  White  Man's  government  to  that  of  a 
mongrel  nation,  in  which  negroes  should  have  the 
same  rights  as  white  people. 

This  is  now  plainly  apparent,  if  it  never 
was  before  ;  and  however  mistaken  the  South 
may  have  been  as  to  the  means  used  to  avert  this) 
calamity,  no  one  not  deluded  with  negro  equality 
will  deny  that  they  were  justified  in  taking  any 
step  which  would  save  them  and  their  children 
from  such  horrible  consequences. 


CHAPTEK  IX. 

THE   BEGINNING   OF   SECESSION. 

THE  first  State  which  seceded,  after  the  election 
of  Mr.  Lincoln,  was  South  Carolina.  On  the  20th 
day  of  December,  1860,  that  State  formally  dis 
solved  its  connection  with  the  Union,  hy  a  unani 
mous  vote  of  a  convention  of  the  State. 

This  act  produced  great  excitement  and  alarm 
among  the  true  friends  of  the  Union  in  the  whole 
North.  But  by  the  leaders  of  the  Black  Republi- 
can  party,  or  the  party  which  elected  Mr.  Lincoln, 
it  was  received  either  with  cold  indifference,  or 
with  the  too  evident  signs  of  suppressed  delight. 

President  Buchanan  promptly  sent  a  message  to 
Congress,  recommending  such  measures  as  he 
hoped  would  stay  the  further  progress  of  secession. 
But  a  very  large  majority  of  the  members  were 
Black  Republicans,  and  they  refused  to  take  any 
notice  of  his  recommendations,  or  to  suggest  any 
measures  of  their  own  to  prevent  the  Union  from 
going  to  pieces. 

Indeed,  President  Buchanan,  in  his  annual  mes 
sage,  which  had  been  transmitted  to  Congress 
eighteen  days  before  South  Carolina  seceded,  had 
anticipated  the  event,  and  had  elaborately  dis- 


THE  BEGINNING   OP    SECESSION.  83 

cussed  the  proper  remedies,  as  well  as  the  powers 
of  the  Federal  Government  to  deal  with  a  seceding 
State.  Referring  to  these  events  since  they  trans 
pired,  Mr.  Buchanan  says  :  "  To  preserve  the 
Union  was  my  supreme  object.  I  was  well  aware 
that  our  wisest  statesmen  had  often  warned  their 
countrymen  in  the  most  solemn  terms,  that  our 
institutions  could  not  be  preserved  by  force,  and 
could  only  endure  whilst  concord  of  feeling  and  a 
proper  respect  by  one  section  for  the  rights  of  an 
other  should  be  maintained." 

This  conclusion  is  sustained  by  President 
Madison,  who  is  called  "  the  father  of  the  Consti 
tution,"  who  said  in  the  convention  which  made 
the  Constitution  :  "  Any  government  for  the 
United  States,  formed  upon  the  supposed  practica 
bility  of  using  force  against  the  unconstitutional 
proceedings  of  the  States,  would  prove  visionary 
and  fallacious."  So  President  Jackson  said,  in 
his  farewell  address  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States  :  "  The  Constitution  cannot  be  maintained, 
nor  the  Union  preserved,  in  opposition  to  public 
feeling,  by  the  mere  exertion  of  the  coercive  pow 
ers  confided  to  the  General  Government." 

Such,  I  could  show  you  had  I  space,  has  been 
the  opinion  of  all  the  greatest  and  wisest  states 
men  of  our  country,  ever  since  the  foundation  of 
our  Government.  President  Buchanan  manifested 
a  sincere  desire  to  impress  upon  Congress  what 
were  the  constitutional  and  proper  means  to  be 
applied  to  prevent  the  spread  of  secession.  All 
remedies  which  the  Constitution  allowed,  he  was 


84  THE   BEGINNING    OP    SECESSION. 

anxious  for  Congress  to  apply  promptly,  in  order 
to  save  the  Union.  He  was  also  anxious  to  im 
press  upon  Congress  the  wrong  of  attempting  un 
constitutional  measures. 

The  point  was  clearly  stated  in  his  message  in 
the  following  language  : 

'*  The  question  fairly  stated  is,  has  the  Constitu 
tion  delegated  to  Congress  the  power  to  coerce  a 
State  into  submission  which  is  attempting  to  with 
draw,  or  has  actually  withdrawn  from  the  Confed 
eracy  ?  If  answered  in  the  affirmative,  it  must  be 
on  the  principle  that  the  power  has  been  conferred 
on  Congress  to  make  war  against  a  State.  After 
much  serious  reflection,  I  have  arrived  at  the  con 
clusion  that  no  such  power  has  been  delegated  to 
Congress,  or  to  any  other  department  of  the  Fed 
eral  Government.  It  is  manifest  upon  an  inspec 
tion  of  the  Constitution,  that  this  is  not  among 
the  specific  and  enumerated  powers  granted  to 
Congress.  So  far  from  this  power  having  been 
delegated  to  Congress,  it  was  expressly  refused  by 
the  convention  which  'framed  the  Constitution." 

A  few  days  after  the  delivery  of  this  annual  mes 
sage,  President  Johnson,  then  a  member  of  the 
United  States  Senate,  while  debating  with  the 
Black  Republicans,  said  :  "I  do  not  believe  the 
Federal  Government  has  the  power  to  coerce  a, 
State  ;  for  by  the  eleventh  amendment  to  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States,  it  is  expressly  pro 
vided,  that  you  cannot  even  put  one  of  the  States 
of  this  Confederacy  before  one  of  the  courts  of  the 
country  as  a  party/' 


THE    BEGINNING    OF    SECESSION.  *    85 

The  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States  had 
just  before  given  an  opinion,  marked  with  great 
ability  and  research,  to  the  same  effect.  No  Black 
Republican  member  of  either  branch  of  Congress 
attempted  to  combat  these  conclusions.  But  no 
argument,  no  appeal  to  the  solemn  sanctions  of  tho 
Constitution  could  arouse  a  spark  of  patriotism  in 
the  bosoms  of  the  abolition  party.  Constitutional 
remedies  that  would  have  prevented  secession  they 
despised.  One  fact  there  is  which  will  rise  up  in 
judgment  to  condemn  the  Black  Republican  party 
forever.  They  could  have'  preserved  the  Union 
without  the  loss  of  a  drop  of  blood,  by  just  pledg 
ing  themselves  to  administer  the  Government  as  it 
had  been  administered  by  all  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  pre 
decessors.  All  the  South  asked  was  equality  in  the 
Union — that  the  Northern  States  should  not  take 
away  their  rights. 

In  the  last  speech  ever  made  in  the  Senate  by 
Jefferson  Davis,  on  December  6th,  I860,  he  plead 
for  the  Union  in  the  following  earnest  language  : 
"The  Union  of  these  States  forms,  in  my  judg 
ment,  the  best  government  instituted  among  men. 
It  is  only  necessary  to  carry  it  out  in  the  spirit  in 
which  it  was  formed.  Our  fathers  made  a  Union 
of  friendly  States.  Now  hostility  has  been  substi- 
stituted  for  fraternity.  I  call  on  men  who  have 
hearts,  and  who  love  the  Union,  to  look  the  dangei 
in  the  face.  This  Union  is  dear  to  me  as  a  Union 
of  fraternal  States.  Long  have  I  offered  proposi- 
wnsfor  equality  in  the  Union.  Not  a  single  Repub 
lican  hax  voted  for  them.  We  have  in  vain  en- 


86  THE   BEGINNING    OF   SECESSION. 

deavored  to  secure  tranquillity,  and  obtain  respect 
for  the  rights  to  which  we  are  entitled.  As  a 
necessity,  not  a  choice,  we  have  resorted  to  the 
remedy  of  separation.  We  have  never  asked  for 
concessions  ;  what  we  wanted  was  justice." 

It  was  very  evident,  however,  soon  after  the  meet 
ing  of  Congress,  in  December,  1860,  that  the  Black 
Republican  party  were  determined  to  do  nothing. 
Their  plan  was  to  let  things  drift  until  Mr.  Lincoln 
should  come  in  on  the  4th  of  March,  1861,  and 
keep  their  policy,  whatever  it  was,  a  profound 
secret.  Seeing  no  chance  for  guarantees  against 
the  amalgamation  policy,  five  other  States,  in  Jan 
uary,  1861,  followed  the  example  of  South  Carolina, 
viz.  :  Mississippi,  January  9th  ;  Alabama,  January 
llth  ;  Florida,  January  llth  ;  Georgia,  January 
19th  ;  and  Louisiana,  January  25th.  Those  were 
all  the  States  that  seceded  previous  to  the  inaugu 
ration  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  The  other  States  remained, 
hoping  against  hope,  that  some  plan  of  adjustment 
would  yet  be  agreed  upon. 


CHAJPTEK  X. 

OF   THE   DEHOCBACY    TO    SAVE    THE 


Wan  ij  the  Black  Republican  party  was  doing  its 
utmost  to  prevent  any  pacific  measure,  or  compro 
mise,  which  should  arrest  the  progress  of  secession, 
the  Democratic  party  exerted  every  power  to  save 
the  Union,  and  restore  confidence  and  peace  to  the 
country.  Among  the  plans  brought  before  Con 
gress  for  this  patriotic  purpose,  was  a  set  of  resolu 
tions  introduced  by  the  venerable  Senator  Critten- 
den,  of  Kentucky.  These  resolutions  are  known 
as  "  The  Crittenden  Compromise."  If  passed  by 
Congress,  they  would  have  restored  instant  peace 
and  stopped  secession.  And  their  terms  were  a 
perfectly  fair  proposition  for  a  final  settlement  of 
the  whole  difficulty. 

^  If  any  section  was  to  make  a  sacrifice  it  was  the 
South,  by  the  adoption  of  this  Crittenden  Com 
promise.  It  proposed,  in  effect,  to  give  up  to  the 
North  more  than  three  quarters  of  all  the  territorial 
domain  belonging  to  the  United  States,  when,  in 
point  of  law  and  justice,  the  South  had  an  equal 
right  with  the  North  in  all  these  territories.  But 
the  South  offered  to  make  this  sacrifice  of  so  much 


88  EFFORTS    OF     THE     DEMOCRACY. 

of  her  rights  for  the  sake  of  peace,  and  for  the  sake 
of  the  Union. 

Mr.  Crittenden,  in  presenting  his  compromise, 
said  :  "  The  sacrifice  to  be  made  for  the  preserva 
tion  of  the  Union  is  comparatively  worthless, 
Peace  and  harmony,  and  union  in  a  great  nation 
were  never  purchased  at  so  cheap  a  rate  as  we  now 
have  it  in  our  power  to  do.  It  is  a  scruple  only,  a 
scruple  of  as  little  value  as  a  barleycorn,  that  stands 
between  us  and  peace  and  reconciliation  and 
Union.  And  we  stand  here  pausing  and  hesita 
ting  about  that  little  atom  which  is  to  be 'sacrificed.' 
But  in  vain  did  this  patriotic  Senator  from  the 
South  plead  with  the  Black  Republican  party  to 
to  take  this  little  step  to  save  the  Union.  Senator 
Hale,  of  New  Hampshire,  declared  "this  contro 
versy  will  not  be  settled  here."  He  knew  that  his 
party  were  determined  to  have  war.  And  this 
was  further  proved  by  the  fact,  that  while  every 
Democratic  member  voted  for  the  Crittenden  peace 
propositions,  every  Black  Republican  member 
voted  against  them. 

But  the  Democrats,  and  the  Southern  members 
of  Congress,  did  not  give  up  the  effort  to  save  the 
Union  even  then.  Mr.  Clemens,  of  Virginia,  intro 
duced  a  resolution  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
to  submit  the  Crittenden  peace  resolutions  to  tno 
people  of  the  United  States.  This  produced  a 
great  flutter  and  alarm  among  the  Black  Republi 
cans.  They  knew  that  if  the  people  were  allowed 
to  vote  on  the  question,  the  resolutions  would  be 
adopted.  So  they  promptly  voted  down  the  pro- 


EFFORTS    OF    THE    DEMOCRACY.  89 

position  to  let  the  people  of  the  United  States  de 
cide  the  question  for  themselves.  Here  again  the 
Democrats  voted  to  submit  the  matter  to  the  peo 
ple,  and  every  Black  Eepublican  voted  against  it. 

But  even  this  was  not  all  the  Democrats  did  to 
save  the  Union.  Senator  Douglas,  after  the  Critten 
den  plan  had  been  voted  down,  introduced  another 
proposition  of  his  own,  which  was  also  voted  down 
by  the  war- wishing  Black  Republicans.  Senatoi 
Douglas,  on  the  defeat  of  his  proposition,  said  : 
"If  you  of  the  Republican  side  are  not  willing  to 
accept  this,  nor  the  proposition  of  the  Senator 
from  Kentucky,  Mr.  Crittenden,  pray  tell  us  what 
you  are  willing  to  do  ?  I  address  the  inquiry  to 
the  Republicans  alone,  for  the  reason  that  in  the 
Committee  of  Thirteen,  a  few  days  ago,  every 
member  from  the  South,  including  those  from  the 
Cotton  States  (Messrs.  Toombs  and  Davis)  ex 
pressed  their  readiness  to  accept  the  proposition  of 
my  venerable  friend  from  Kentucky,  as  a  final  set 
tlement  of  the  controversy,  if  tendered  and  sustain 
ed  by  the  Republican  members.  Hence  the  sole 
responsibility  of  our  disagreement,  and  the  only 
difficulty  in  the  way  of  an  amicable  adjustment,  is 
with  the  Eepublican  party" 

When  all  these  measures  for  peace  and  union 
had  failed,  Senator  Douglas  pointed  to  the  side  of 
the  Senate  Chamber  where  the  Black  Republicans 
had  their  seats,  and  exclaimed  with  great  energy — 
"You  want  war."  And  so  they  did.  Every  act 
shows  that  they  wanted  war.  They  meant  to  force 
war  upon  the  South.  But  you  have  not  yet  heard 


90  EFFORTS    OF   THE    DEMOCRACY. 

of  all  the  Democratic  party  did  to  save  the  Union, 
and  to  prevent  all  the  bloody  horrors  of  war. 

When  every  effort  to  induce  the  abolition  mem 
bers  of  Congress  to  accept  some  terms  of  peace  had 
failed,  the  noble  old  State  of  Virginia  came  forward 
with  a  proposition  to  call  a  convention  of  one  or 
more  commissioners  from  each  State,  to  see  if  they 
could  not  hit  upon  some  plan  whereby  the  Union 
could  be  preserved.  This  proposition  was  received 
like  a  firebrand  by  the  Black  Republicans.  But 
seven  of  the  Southern  States  immediately  sent 
their  peace  commissioners  to  Washington,  and 
there  was  such  a  clamor  from  the  people  through 
out  the  North  for  peace,  that  the  abolition  leaders 
were  obliged  to  consent  that  the  Northern  States 
should  be  represented  in  this  peace  conference. 
But  they  diligently  set  themselves  to  work  to  pre 
vent  any  men  who  really  wanted  peace  from  being 
sent  to  the  conference. 

Carl  Schurz,  a  notorious  agitator  and  disunion- 
ist,  from  Wisconsin,  telegraphed  to  the  Governor 
of  that  State — "  Appoint  commissioners  to  Wash 
ington  conference — myself  one — to  strengthen  our 
side."  By  "our  side"  he  meant  those  who  were 
opposed  to  any  peace  measures  to  save  the  country 
from  war,  and  preserve  the  Union.  Senator  Chan 
dler,  of  Michigan,  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Governor  of 
bis  State,  to  the  same  effect,  in  which  he  profanely 
declared,  that,  "  Without  a  little  blood-letting,  this 
Union  would  not,  in  his  estimation,  be  worth  a 
curse." 

The  "  Republicans"  wanted  "  a  little  blood-let- 


EFFORTS    OF   THE    DEMOCRACY.  91 

ting,"  in  order  to  make  as  wide  as  possible  the 
gulf  between  the  North  and  the  South.  This 
Peace  Conference,  therefore,  was  a  failure,  because 
the  abolitionists  were  determined  there  should  be 
no,  peace.  I  have  already  shown  you  that  a  portion 
of  these  traitors  were  moved  to  this  course  because 
of  a  blind  and  fanatical  sympathy  for  negroes, 
while  others  were  impelled  by  a  desire  to  over 
throw  this  Union  of  our  fathers,  and  to  establish 
one  great  despotic  government  on  its  ruins. 

All  efforts  of  the  Democrats  to  make  peace  were, 
therefore,  in  vain.  They  left  no  stone  unturned  to 
save  our  country  from  the  horrors  of  bloodshed 
and  war,  and  never  gave  up  these  efforts,  until  they 
saw  that  nothing  but  "  blood-letting"  would  satisfy 
the  revolutionary  temper  of  the  Black  Eepublican 
party.  And  they  did  not  give  up  even  then,  but 
kept  on  diligently  trying  to  stay  the  black  tide  of 
fanaticism  and  death,  even  after  the  war  had 
begun. 


CHAPTER  XL 

1HE   FORMATION   OF   THE   NEW   CONFEDERACY. 

WHILE  the  Black  Republican  members  of  ootli 
Houses  of  Congress  were  thus  closing  up  every 
avenue  to  peace,  six  more  of  the  Cotton  States,  as 
I  have  stated  in  a  former  chapter,  followed  South 
Carolina,  and  passed  acts  of  secession.  On  the 
4th  day  of  February,  1861,  these  States  assembled, 
by  their  delegates,  at  Montgomery,  Alabama,  for 
the  purpose  of  organizing  a  provisional  govern 
ment.  A  provisional  government  is  a  temporary 
organization,  or  one  that  is  not  intended  to  be 
permanent.  Of  this  provisional  government  Jef 
ferson  Davis  was  unanimously  elected  President, 
and  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  Yice-President.  They 
adopted  a  new  Constitution,  which  was  simply  the 
old  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  altered 
essentially  only  in  such  parts  as  had  been  per 
verted  and  misinterpreted  by  the  abolitionists. 
And  the  main  point  was  in  relation  to  the  status 
of  the  negro.  In  the  Confederate  Constitution 
his  inferior  position  was  distinctly  recognized,  so 
that  the  abolitionists  could  no  longer  declare  that 
the  Government  intended  to  include  him  in  the 
ranks  of  citizenship.  And  this  was,  after  all,  the 
turning  point  of  the  whole  issue  between  the 


JEFFERSON  DAVIS. 


Page  92. 


FOEMATION    OP   THE    NEW   CONFEDERACY.        93 

North,  as  represented  bj  Lincoln  and  his  party, 
and  the  South.  The  abolitionists  desired  to  make 
the  negro  a  citizen.  The  South  said,  "No,  this  is 
a  White  Man's  Government.  It  was  made  so  by 
our  forefathers,  and  we  will  not  submit  to  its  over 
throw." 

President  Davis,  in  delivering  his  address  on 
taking  his  seat  as  Provisional  President,  declared 
distinctly  that  the  design  was  not  to  make  any 
change  in  the  system  of  government  as  originally 
established.  In  this  speech  he  clearly  showed 
that  he  had  no  desire  or  expectation  that  the  sepa 
ration  between  these  States  would  be  permanent — 
for  he  referred  to  the  fact  that,  as  their  new  Con 
stitution  was  substantially  the  old  one,  freed  of  all 
chances  for  sectional  quarrels,  there  was  nothing 
to  prevent  all  the  States  which  wished  for  perma 
nent  rest  and  peace,  from  joining  them. 

No  doubt  the  wish  and  the  belief  was,  that  all 
the  States  which  preferred  a  real  Union — just  such 
a  Union  as  our  fathers  made — to  one  perpetually 
vexed  and  torn  by  a  degrading  conflict  about  ne 
groes,  would  ultimately  unite  their  fortunes  with 
the  new  organization.  While  the  temper  of  the 
abolitionists,  or  the  Black  Republicans,  of  the 
North  was  savage,  fiery,  and  full  of  blood,  that  of 
the  Southern  leaders  was  calm  and  dignified.  The 
record  I  have  already  presented  of  the  conflict  be 
tween  the  two  sections  is  proof  of  this,  notwith 
standing  the  many  falsehoods  told  to  the  contrary. 

In  the  last  speech  Mr.  Davis  delivered  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States,  he  said,  with  a  mild- 


94        FORMATION    OF   THE   NEW   CONFEDERACY. 

ness  and  dignity  of  voice  and  manner  truly  en 
nobling  : 

"But  we  have  proclaimed  our  independence. 
This  is  done  with  no  hostility  or  desire  to  injure 
any  section  of  the  country,  nor  even  for  our  pecu 
niary  benefit,  but  solely  from  the  high  and  solid 
motives  of  defending  and  protecting  the  rights  we 
inherited,  and  transmitting  them  unshorn  to  our 
posterity.  I  know  that  I  feel  no  hostility  to  you, 
senators  here,  and  am  sure  that  there  is  not  one 
of  you,  whatever  may  have  been  the  sharp  discus 
sion  between  us,  to  whom  I  cannot  now  say,  in  the 
presence  of  my  God,  I  wish  you  well.  And  such  is 
the  feeling,  I  am  sure,  the  people  I  represent  have 
toward  those  you  represent.  I  therefore  feel  I  but 
express  their  desire  when  I  say  I  hope,  and  they 
hope,  for  those  peaceful  relations  with  you  (though 
we  must  part)  that  may  be  mutually  beneficial  to 
us  in  the  future. 

"  There  will  be  peace  if  you  so  will  it ;  and  you 
may  bring  disaster  upon  the  whole  country  if  you 
thus  will  have  it.  And  if  you  will  have  it  thus  we 
invoke  the  God  of  our  fathers,  who  delivered  them 
from  the  paw  of  the  lion,  to  protect  us  from  the 
ravages  of  the  bear ;  and  thus  putting  our  trust  in 
God,  and  our  own  firm  hearts  and  strong  arms, 
we  will  vindicate  and  defend  the  rights  we  claim. 
In  the  course  of  my  long  career  I  have  met  with  a 
great  variety  of  men  here,  and  there  have  been 
points  of  collision  between  us.  Whatever  of  of 
fence  I  have  given  which  has  not  been  redressed,  I 
am  willing  to  say  to  senators  in  this  hour  of  part- 


FOBMATION    OF   THE   NEW   CONFEDERACY.        95 

ing,  I  offer  you  my  apology  for  anything  I  ma^ 
\iave  done  ;  and  I  go  thus  released  from  obligation, 
remembering  no  injury  I  have  received,  and  hav 
ing  discharged  what  I  deem  the  duty  of  a  man, 
offer  the  only  reparation  in  my  power  for  any  in 
jury  I  have  ever  inflicted." 

This  is  not  the  language  of  a  conspirator  or  a 
traitor !  On  the  contrary,  is  it  not  rather  the  lan 
guage  of  one  who  regretfully  takes  a  step  which 
he  feels  that  duty  compels  him  to  take  ?  And  with 
what  temper  he  was  answered  from  the  Black  Re 
publican  side  of  Congress  let  the  brutal  language 
of  Senator  Chandler  of  Michigan,  which  we  have 
quoted  in  a  previous  chapter,  answer. 

After  the  Cotton  States  had  withdrawn  and 
formed  the  new  Confederacy,  they  expressed  their 
wish  and  determination  to  take  no  step  that  should 
provoke  hostilities,  except  what  was  absolutely  ne 
cessary  for  their  own  safety  and  preservation.  The 
forts,  arsenals,  etc.,  situated  within  the  limits  of 
the  several  retiring  States,  necessarily  went  with 
the  States,  and,  in  reality,  belonged  to  the  States 
as  their  own  necessary  defences.  It  is  true  they 
were  built  with  the  joint  property  of  all  the  States, 
as  I  have  shows  in  a  former  chapter,  but  then 
they  were  built  for  the  benefit  of  the  several  States 
in  which  they  were  located,  and  not  for  the  aggran 
dizement  and  power  of  the  Federal  Government. 
Each  State  held  a  certain  jurisdiction  over  all 
the  forts,  arsenals,  post-offices,  etc.,  situated  with 
in  its  own  limits. 

That  is,  the  State  of  South  Carolina  has  a  cer- 


96        FORMATION    OP   THE   NEW    CONFEDERACY 

tain  jurisdiction  over  Fort  Slimier,  situated  in  ita 
harbor  at  Charleston,  but  it  has  no  jurisdiction 
over  Fort  Warren,  located  in  the  harbor  of  Boston. 
Ajid  the  State  of  Massachusetts  has  a  certain  ju 
risdiction  over  Fort  Warren,  but  has  none  what 
ever  O¥er  Fort  Sumter,  though  the  money  of  Mas 
sachusetts  helped  build  Fort  Sumter,  as  the  money 
of  South  Carolina  helped  build  Fort  Warren.  It 
is  a  part  of  the  compact  of  Union  between  the 
several  States,  that  each  State  shall  have  these  de 
fences  provided  from  the  general  fund  ;  while,  at 
the  same  time,  each  SlJdte  retains  a  certain  juris 
diction  over  all  such  United  States  works  as  are 
located  within  its  boundaries. 

The  United  States  has  no  right  to  deprive  any 
State  of  its  jurisdiction  over  such  works.  To  illus 
trate — when  the  State  of  New  York  ceded  to  the 
United  States  the  spot  on  which  Fort  Hamilton, 
now  called  Fort  Lafayette,  is  built,  it  reserved  to  it 
self  a  certain  jurisdiction  over  the  fort  when  built, 
and  expressly  provided  that  should  the  fort  ever 
be  used  for  any  purpose  other  than  that  for  which 
the  State  had  ceded  the  spot,  the  whole  should  re 
vert  again  to  the  State  of  New  York.  That  is,  if 
the  Federal  Government  should  ever  attempt  to 
use  the  fort  for  any  other  purpose  than  that  of 
the  defence  and  protection  of  the  city  and  harbor 
of  New  York,  for  which  it  was  built,  the  Federal 
Government  would  lose  all  title  to  it,  and  the 
whole  become  the  lawful  property  of  the  State. 
When  the  Federal  Government  converted  that 
fort  into  a  Bastile,  under  the  administration  of 


FORMATION  OF  THE  NEW  CONFEDERACY.   97 

Mr.  Lincoln,  it  undoubtedly  forfeited  all  title  to 
the  property,  had  the  State  of  New  York  strictly 
insisted  upon  its  rights. 

These  considerations  show  you  in  what  light  the 
seceding  States  regarded  the  forts  situated  in 
their  harbors.  You  have  been  told  by  the  Black 
Republicans  that  those  States,  when  they  went 
out,  "  stole  all  our  forts,"  etc. ;  but  the  above  facts 
prove  that  "  theft"  is  by  no  means  a  just  or  proper 
word  to  apply  to  their  action  in  this  respect. 
Every  State,  at  all  times,  and  under  all  circum 
stances,  has  an  undoubted  right  to  take  any  steps 
which  are  immediately  necessary  to  protect  the 
lives  and  property  of  its  people,  from  whatever 
quarter  the  danger  may  come.  Any  State  has  just 
as  much  right  to  protect  itself  from  the  threatened 
illegal  violence  of  the  Federal  Government,  as  it 
has  to  protect  itself  from  the  invasion  of  Russia, 
or  any  other  power.  Its  right  to  exist  as  a  State 
carries  with  it  the  right  to  protect  and  defend  that 
existence.  The  Federal  Government  was  formed 
by  the  States  for  the  purpose  of  giving  greatei 
protection  and  security  to  themselves  ;  and  when 
ever  it  is  certain  that  the  object  for  which  that 
government  was  formed  is  sacrificed,  and,  instead 
of  being  a  protection,  becomes  an  oppression  and 
a  danger,  it  is  the  right  and  the  duty  of  every 
State  thus  threatened  to  do  the  best  thing  it  can 
for  its  own  safety. 

Suppose  the  Southern  States  had  elected  a 
strictly  sectional  President  on  a  programme  of 
bloody  hostility  to  us  here  in  the  North— on  a 


98        FORMATION    OP    THE    NEW    CONFEDERACY 

programme  of  threats  to  steal  our  property,  and 
murder  our  men,  women,  and  children,  if  neces 
sary,  in  doing  it — should  we  not  have  had  the  un 
doubted  right  to  take  any  step  which  we  might 
think  necessary  for  our  protection?  If  the  South 
believed  that  the  barbarous  and  terrible  threats  ol 
the  Helper  Book,  and  of  the  leaders  of  the  Black 
Republicans,  were  to  be  visited  upon  them  in  the 
Lincoln  Administration,  can  we  blame  them  for 
attemj,  ting  to  provide  against  such  a  horrible  out 
rage  ?  Does  any  good  man  question  their  right  to 
put  forth  all  the  powers  God  had  given  them  for 
self-protection?  Acting  under  this  belief,  were 
they  to  be  regarded  as  traitors  and  rebels  ? 

Almost  everybody  at  the  North  said,  before  the 
beginning  of  the  war,  if  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his  party 
did  really  intend  to  do  what  the  South  declared 
they  did,  then  they  would  be  justified  in  any  course 
they  saw  fit  to  pursue.  It  is  now  seen  that  they 
have  done  just  what  the  Southern  leaders  predicted 
they  would. 


CHAPTEE  XII. 

MB.  LINCOLN'S  JOUBNEY  TO  WASHINGTON 
INAUGURATION. 

WHILE  the  Confederate  Government  was  thus 
being  peacefully  organized  in  the  South,  matters 
in  the  North  were  in  a  state  of  doubt  and  uncer 
tainty.  No  one  knew  what  the  policy  of  the  new 
President  was  to  be  further  than  they  could  gather 
it  from  the  platform  and  principles  of  the  party 
upon  which  he  was  elected.  I  have  explained  what 
interpretation  the  South  placed  upon  these,  and 
every  effort  was  made  by  patriotic  and  conserva 
tive  men  to  induce  Mr.  Lincoln  to  make  an  avowal 
to  quiet  the  country,  and  assure  the  Southern 
States  that  he  would  not  use  the  Federal  Govern 
ment  to  destroy  their  domestic  institutions.  But 
all  such  efforts  were  in  vain.  Mr.  Lincoln  main 
tained  an  ominous  silence  up  to  the  time  of  his 
departure  from  his  home  at  Springfield,  Illinois, 
for  Washington. 

But  when  he  commenced  his  journey  to  Wash 
ington,  he  made  such  an  exhibition  of  himself,  by 
speeches  all  the  way  along,  as  to  leave  no  doubt 
upon  the  minds  of  the  Southern  leaders  that  the 
abolitionists  had  in  him  a  convenient  tool  for  all 
the  villainy  they  had  threatened  to  carry  out. 


lOO   MB.  LINCOLN'S  JOUBNEY  TO  WASHINGTON. 

His  progress  to  the  capital  of  the  United  States 
was  more  like  that  of  a  harlequin  than  the  Presi 
dent  of  a  great  country.  While  the  country  was 
agonized  to  its  very  heart,  he  amused  the  crowd 
which  came  out  to  greet  him  on  his  way  with  jokes, 
and.  often,  with  low  stories.  He  even  made  jests 
that  were  at  once  surprising  and  disgusting  to  the 
respectable  portion  of  his  own  party.  To  a  young 
man  who,  in  New  York  city,  offered  to  measure 
height  with  him,  he  replied,  "  No,  I  have  not  time 
now  to  measure  with  you,  but  if  you  will  bring  on 
your  sister  I  will  kiss  her."  The  whole  style  and 
manner  of  the  man  was  that  of  a  low  joker,  rathei 
than  that  of  a  statesman  and  patriot.  "When  pub 
licly  questioned  as  to  what  he  thought  would  be 
the  result  of  secession,  he  jocosely  replied,  "  O,  I 
guess,  nobody  is  hurt.'* 

In  no  one  of  his  speeches,  however,  did  Mr. 
Lincoln  give  the  slightest  indication  of  retracting 
any  threat  which  his  party  had  made.  When  he 
reached  Philadelphia,  however,  he  made  a  speech 
which  evidently  showed  that  he  was  determined  to 
carry  out  the  idea  of  "  negro  freedom"  let  what 
would  happen.  Making  use  again,  as  he  often  did,  of 
Mr.  Jefferson's  phrase,  "all  men  are  created  equal," 
he  pointed  to  Independence  Hall,  where  it  was 
first  enunciated,  and  declared,  that  "  he  would 
rather  be  assassinated  on  the  spot  than  to  give 
it  up." 

Now,  when  we  remember  that  he  used  these 
great  words  as  referring  to  negroes,  and  not  as 
Mr.  Jefferson  did,  as  applied  to  white  men,  we 


ABBAHAM  LINCOLN. 


Page  100. 


ME.    LINCOLN'S   JOURNEY    TO    WASHINGTON.    101 

then  see  what  a  terrible  significance  there  was  in 
this  speech.  Mr.  Lincoln  meant  to  say,  "  I  will  be 
assassinated  before  I  will  give  up  my  effort  to  carry 
out  my  idea  that  negroes  are  equal  to  white 
men."  It  was  as  much  as  to  say,  "I  will  change,  I 
will  revolutionize  this  Government  from  a  white 
man's  government  to  a  mongrel  government,  in 
which  negroes  shall  be  placed  upon  equality  with 
white  men."  At  the  time  he  made  this  remark, 
many  people  did  not  seem  see  the  true  meaning 
of  it,  but  they  have  since  learned  it,  by  sore  ex 
perience. 

At  Philadelphia  a  singular  and  ludicrous  inci 
dent  occurred.  Some  one  started  the  report,  that 
when  Mi\  Lincoln  passed  through  Baltimore,  he 
would  be  killed  ;  that  a  conspiracy  existed  in  that 
city  to  take  his  life.  Instead  of: boldly  meeting 
the  danger,  if  any  existed,  as  a*Jt}rftv<Q  -maa^nd  »a 
great  man  would  have  done,  who  had  beep,  elected 
President  of  such  a  country,  ty&v  •itdfifldbi"  appears 
to  have  got  greatly  frightened,  and  instead  of  go- 
Ing  directly  to  Washington,  ran  away  from  his 
family,  and  dodged  through  Baltimore  in  disguise. 
As  there  never  was  any  reliable  evidence  furnished 
the  public  of  the  alleged  designs  upon  Mr.  Lin 
coln's  life,  it  is  generally  believed  that  the  story 
was  concocted  to  excite  the  North  against  the 
South,  and  pave  the  way  for  war. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  inauguration  was  a  singular  spec- 
tacle.  For  the  first  time  in  our  history  had  any 
President  been  afraid  to  meet  the  people  face  to  face 
In  passing  along  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  he  was  hid 


102    MR.  LINCOLN'S  JOURNEY  TO  WASHINGTON. 

from  view  in  a  hollow  square  of  cavalry,  three  or 
four  deep.  Troops  were  posted  all  over  the  city, 
and  sharp-shooters  were  stationed  on  the  tops  of 
the  houses.  He  delivered  his  inaugural  address 
surrounded  by  rows  of  glittering  bayonets. 

There  was  nothing  in  it  to  reassure  the  Southern 
mind  or  give  it  the  slightest  reason  to  hope  for 
safety.  It  contained  a  few  cheap  words  of  affected 
fairness,  but  the  heart  of  it  was  full  of  the  temper 
and  doctrines  of  the  abolition  party.  He  in 
sinuated  right  in  the  face  of  the  venerable  Chief- 
Justice  Taney,  that  he  would  not  be  governed  in 
his  Administration  by  the  construction  of  the  Con 
stitution  as  had  been  laid  down  by  the  Supreme 
Court  in  the  celebrated  Dred  Scott  case,  viz.,  that 
negroes  were  not  citizens.  This  was,  in  effect,  re 
affirming,  .the,  Jlelper  declaration  of  war  on  the 
1  £outb,  'and  fcbiibdeed  her  leading  men  regarded  it. 
•  ,  The.  -iaajugural  address  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  together 
-vvith-tlie  fefel&dibn.  o£'his  Cabinet,  now  banished  all 
hopes  of  peace.  The  worst  and  most  violent  abo 
litionists  were  appointed  by  him  to  office.  William 
H.  Seward,  who  had  endorsed  the  Helper  book, 
declaring  it  a  work  of  "  great  merit,"  was  made 
Secretary  of  State.  Salmon  P.  Chase,  of  Ohio, 
was  made  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  Cassius  M. 
Clay,  another  endorser  of  the  Helper  book,  was 
sent  minister  to  Russia.  Joshua  B.  Giddings  was 
Bent  to  Canada.  This  man  had  declared  that  "  he 
wished  to  live  to  see  the  day  when  bayonets  would 
be  placed  in  the  hands  of  Southern  negroes." 
These  are  merely  samples  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  ap- 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  JOUKNEY  TO  WASHINGTON    103 

poiL,tments.  They  observed  very  plainly  his  spirit 
and  temper,  and  the  States  that  had  hesitated  to 
secede  now  began  to  take  steps  in  that  direction. 

The  statesmen  of  Virginia  had  been  decidedly 
opposed  to  seceding,  even  after  several  of  the  Cot 
ton  States  had  withdrawn.  Senator  Hunter  of 
Virginia  said  :  "  If  the  Southern  States  can  obtain 
guarantees  which  will  secure  their  rights  in  the 
Union,  it  is  all  we  ask."  Governor  Letcher,  who 
was  then  Governor  of  that  State,  said  :  "  If  the 
North  will  respect  and  uphold  the  rights  of  the 
States,  the  Union  will  be  perpetual.  Ex-Governor 
Morehead  of  Kentucky,  came  to  Washington  for  a 
personal  interview  with  Mr.  Lincoln,  in  hopes  that 
he  could  induce  him  to  make  some  public  declara 
tion  to  the  effect  that  the  terrible  things  threat 
ened  in  the  Helper  book,  and  in  all  the  principal 
speeches  of  the  abolition  campaign,  should  not  be 
carried  out.  But  this  patriotic  visit,  like  many 
other  similar  visits  from  distinguished  Southern 
statesmen,  was  in  vain.  Mr.  Lincoln  would  give 
no  assurance — no  hope.  Governor  Morehead  is  a 
refined  and  accomplished  gentleman,  and  the  vul 
gar  manner  in  which  he  was  received  by  Mr.  Lin 
coln,  both  filled  him  with  disgust  and  drove  from 
his  bosom  the  last  lingering  hope  that  the  country 
had  anything  but  evil  to  expect  from  such  a  man. 

Governor  Morehead  relates  an  incident  that 
goes  to  show  what  sort  of  a  man  Mr.  Lincoln  was. 
He  said  that  while  conversing  with  him,  Mr.  Lin 
coln  sat  with  his  shoe  off,  holding  his  toes  in  his 
hand  and  bending  them  backwards  and  forwards 
8 


104      ME.  LINCOLN'S  JOUKNEY    TO  WASHINGTON. 

in  an  awkward  manner.  Such  an  exhibition  of 
low  manners  was,  perhaps,  never  before  known  in 
a  President.  Shortly  after  this  Mr.  Lincoln  had 
Governor  Morehead  arrested,  and  locked  up  for 
a  long  time  in  Fort  Lafayette  at  New  York,  with 
out  any  cause  whatever. 

Mr.  Lincoln  had  never  been  much  in  good  so 
ciety.  While  he  was  in  Congress,  his  habit  of  tell 
ing  low  stories  pretty  effectually  banished  him  from 
the  company  of  refined  people.  In  his  debate 
with  Senator  Douglas,  he  made  this  remarkable 
confession  himself  :  "  I  am  not  a  gentleman,  and 
never  expect  to  be." 

Tiie  Hon.  George  Lunt,  of  Boston,  in  his  excel 
lent  work  on  " the  Origin  of  the  War"  gives  the 
following  portrait  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  intellectually  : 

"The  new  President  was  a  person  of  scarcely 
more  than  ordinary  natural  powers,  with  a  mind 
neither  cultivated  by  education,  nor  enlarged  by 
experience  in  public  affairs.  Ho  was  thus  incapa 
ble  of  any  wide  range  of  thought,  or,  in  fact,  of  ob 
taining  any  broad  grasp  of  ideas.  His  thoughts 
ran  in  narrow  chanr.els."  And  ih<\  author  might 
have  added,  "  in  low  channels." 

His  messages  and  proclamations  were  shocking 
specimens  of  bad  sense  and  bad  grammar. 

But  I  think  that  Mr.  Lincoln  roust,  after  all, 
have  possessed  a  good  deal  of  what  is  called  mo 
ther  wit.  Without  that  it  seems  impossible  to  ac 
count  for  his  having  risen  from  his  extremely  low 
origin  to  the  posts  he  several  times  filled.  He 
had  the  misfortune  not  to  know  who  his  father 


MB.  LINCOLN'S  JOURNEY  TO  WASHINGTON.    106 

was  ;  and  his  mother,  alas,  was  a  person  to  reflect 
no  honor  upon  her  child.  Launched  into  thia 
world  as  an  outcast,  and  started  on  the  road  of 
being  without  parental  care,  and  without  the  ad 
vantages  of  even  a  common  school  education,  he 
certainly  was  entitled  to  great  credit  for  gaining 
even  the  limited  mental  culture  which  he  pos 
sessed.  Kunning  away  from  his  wretched  home 
at  the  early  age  of  nine  years,  to  escape  the  brutal 
treatment  of  the  man  who  had  married  his  mother, 
and  forced  to  get  his  bread  by  working  on  a  flat- 
boat  on  the  Mississippi  River,  he  unfortunately 
contracted  that  fondness  for  low  society  and  for 
vulgar  jests  and  stories,  which  he  ought  to  have 
known  were  out  of  place  in  the  position  he  now 
occupied. 

"We  cannot  wonder  that  a  gentleman  of  Gover 
nor  Morehead's  refinement  should  have  gone  out 
from  that  exhibition  of  toes  in  Mr.  Lincoln's  par 
lor,  with  a  mind  fully  impressed  with  the  unwel 
come  conviction  that  the  Southern  people  had  lit 
tle  to  hope  from  the  honor  and  justice  of  the  in* 
coming  administration. 


CHAPTER  XIH. 

"THE  FIRST  GUN  OF  SUMTEE." 

IMMEDIATELY  after  the  inauguration  of  Mr.  Lin* 
coin,  the  Confederate  Government  appointed  Com 
missioners  to  proceed  to  Washington  for  the  pur 
pose  of  negotiating  for  a  peaceable  settlement  oi 
all  matters  connected  with  the  forts  and  other 
United  States  property  situated  within  the  seceded 
States.  Arriving  in  Washington,  these  Commis 
sioners  addressed  a  note  to  Mr.  Seward,  Secretary 
of  State,  explaining  the  purposes  of  their  embassy, 
and  expressing  in  the  most  respectful  terms  the 
strong  desire  for  an  amicable  and  just  understand 
ing  between  the  two  sections.  Mr.  Seward  an 
swered,  in  language  well  calculated  to  deceive  as 
to  the  belligerent  intentions  of  the  Administration, 
that  at  that  moment  it  would  be  impossible  to 
receive  these  Commissioners  in  an  official  capacity, 
but  left,  upon  their  minds  the  impression  that  some 
amicable  adjustment  would  ultimately  be  entered 
into. 

And  there  these  Commissioners  remained  de 
ceived,  from  week  to  week,  by  verbal  assurances, 
which  all  turned  out  to  be  cheats  and  delusions. 
For  in  the  end,  it  was  proved  that  all  the  time 
Mr.  Seward  and  Mr.  Lincoln  were  holding  these 


"THE   FIES1    GU»    OP    SUMTKK."  107 

Southern  Commissioners  contented  in  Washing 
ton,  they  were  secretly  planning  and  organizing 
one  of  the  largest  naval  war  fleets  to  attack  Fort 
Sumter  and  Charleston,  that  is  known  to  modern 
history.  While  Mr.  Seward  was  blandly  exhorting 
these  Commissioners  that  they  should  be  patient 
and  trustful,  he  was  preparing  to  strike  a  fatal  and 
deadly  blow,  and  lay  the  Southern  cities  in  ashes. 
He  promised  these  Commissioners  that  no  demon 
stration  should  be  made  upon  Fort  Sumter ;  and  it 
was  cunningly  given  out  in  the  Administration 
papers,  that  the  fort  was  about  to  be  evacuated  by 
the  Federal  troops. 

This  was  all  a  part  of  the  general  game  of  decep 
tion.  For,  even  while  these  Commissioners  were 
trusting  that  the  arrangements  entered  into  be 
tween  themselves  and  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Mr.  Seward, 
to  the  effect  that  the  Federal  troops  in  Fort  Sum 
ter  should  have  access  to  the  markets  of  Charleston 
for  provisions,  and  that  no  attempt  to  reinforce 
the  garrison  should  be  made,  the  most  stupendous 
preparations  to  reinforce,  and  to  make  war,  were 
secretly  progressing.  Fortunately  for  the  honor 
of  the  Southern  Commissioners,  Judge  Campbell, 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  was 
the  agent  through  whom  this  friendly  verbal  treaty 
had  been  made.  And  after  the  mask  fell  from  the 
faces  of  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Mr.  Seward,  Judge  Camp 
bell  wrote  to  the  latter,  fully  accusing  him  of  his 
whole  course  of  fraud  and  deception  in  the  matter. 
To  those  grave  charges  Mr.  Seward  has  never 
dared  to  attempt  an  answer  to  this  day.  Judge 


108  "T1IE   FIRST   GFN    OP   SUMTEE." 

Campbell  read  to  Mr.  Seward  a  letter  which  lie 
had  written  to  President  Davis,  detailing  the  agree 
ment  entered  into  between  Mr.  Lincoln  and  the 
Southern  Commissioners  ;  and  Mr.  Seward,  point 
ing  to  the  letter,  said,  "Before  that  letter  reaches  ita 
destination,  Fort  Sumter  will  be  evacuated/5  At 
that  yery  moment  he  was  making  the  most  gigan 
tic  preparation  not  to  evacuate  it.  When  some 
days  had  elapsed,  and  the  fort  was  not  evacuated, 
Judge  Campbell  became  uneasy  as  to  the  good 
faith  of  Mr.  Seward  in  all  his  promises,  and  wrote 
him  a  letter  to  that  effect,  to  which  Mr.  Seward 
telegraphed  this  laconic  answer — "  Faith  as  to 
Sumter  fully  kept — wait  and  see."  Judge  Camp 
bell  and  the  people  of  Charleston  had  only  to  wait 
six  short  days,  and  they  did  "see" — the  largest 
war  fleet  threatening  the  destruction  of  their  city 
that  had  ever  traversed  the  waters  of  this  conti 
nent  before. 

By  the  law  of  nations  the  appearance  of  such  a 
fleet  these,  under  the  circumstances,  was  a  declara 
tion  of  war.  It  needs  not  the  firing  of  a  gun  to 
make  war.  The  putting  of  the  first  gun  into  a  war 
ship,  with  the  design  of  using  it  against  a  city,  or 
a  State,  is  a  declaration  of  war  against  that  city  or 
State.  This  fact  was  stated  by  the  leading  journals 
of  Europe  in  commenting  upon  these  events  at  the 
time  they  occurred.  It  was  correctly  held  by  them 
ihat  the  war  was  opened  not  by  the  South,  in  fir 
ing  upon  Fort  Sumter,  but  was  fully  begun  by  the 
abolitionists  of  the  North  in  the  very  act  of  fitting 
out  that  vast  war  fleet.  To  allow  Mr.  Lincoln's  troops 


"THE   FIKST    GUN    OP   SUMTEK."  109 

fco  reinforce  Fort  Sumter  would  have  been  to  put 
the  fate  of  the  city  of  Charleston,  with  all  its  price 
less  treasure  of  life  and  property  at  the  niercy  oi 
the  men  in  power  at  Washington,  who  had  just 
proved  that  they  were  incapable  of  showing  the 
least  respect  to  their  own  most  solemnly  uttered 
promises. 

The  preventing  of  the  reinforcement  of  the  fort 
was  held  to  be  a  necessary  act  of  self-preservation. 
Under  the  circumstances,  it  was  not,  properly 
speaking,  an  act  of  aggression,  but  of  self-defense. 
The  first  gun  at  Fort  Sumter  was  not,  then,  in  a 
legal  point  of  view,  the  beginning  of  the  war.  It 
was  morally  begun  by  the  abolitionists  more  than 
thirty  years  ago.  It  was  fully  organized  by  the 
formation  of  the  Black  Eepublican  party,  and  the 
election  of  Lincoln  on  the  platform  of  the  Helper 
Book.  And  it  was  formally  opened  and  declared 
by  the  sailing  of  the  great  war  fleet  against  Charles 
ton.  The  "first  gun"  of  the  war  was  the  first 
gun  put  into  that  war  fleet.  The  "first  gun"  at 
Sumter  was  only  the  first  gun  of  self-defense.  This 
is  the  simple  fact  of  the  case  stripped  of  all  the  non 
sensical  verbiage  with  which  it  has  been  surround 
ed  by  the  abolitionists. 

General  Beauregard,  in  order  to  prevent  Fort 
Sumter  from  being  reinforced  by  abolition  soldiers, 
opened  fire  upon  it,  on  the  morning  of  the  12th  day 
of  April,  1861,  at  day-break.  The  firing  was  con-  ' 
tinued  without  intermission  for  twelve  hours  ;  the 
fort  under  the  command  of  Major  Anderson,  re 
turning  the  fire  constantly  all  that  time.  At  dark 


110  "THE    FIRST    GUN    OF   SUMTEK." 

the  firing  from  the  fort  almost  stopped,  but  it  was 
kept  np  by  General  Beauregard  at  intervals  during 
the  whole  night.  At  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
however,  the  fort  resumed  its  fire  ;  but  shortly 
afterwards  it  was  seen  that  it  was  on  fire,  and  Major 
Anderson  was  compelled  to  run  up  a  signal  flag  of 
distress.  General  Beauregard  immediately  sent  a 
boat  to  Major  Anderson,  offering  to  assist  in  put 
ting  out  the  fire,  but  before  it  had  time  to  reach 
the  fort,  Major  Anderson  hoisted  the  flag  of  truce. 

This  was  the  whole  of  the  famous  bombardment 
of  Fort  Sumter.  Not  a  man  was  killed  on  either 
side.  When  Major  Anderson  surrendered  his 
sword,  General  Beauregard  instantly  returned  it 
to  him,  and  permitted  him  on  leaving  the  fort  to 
salute  the  United  States  flag  with  fifty  guns.  In 
doing  this,  however,  two  of  his  guns  burst  and 
killed  four  men. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  during  the  whole 
time  of  the  bombardment  of  Fort  Sumter,  Mr. 
Lincoln's  war-fleet,  embracing  two  or  three  of  the 
most  powerful  United  States  sloops-of-war  lay  in 
sight  of  all  that  was  passing,  without  offering  to 
fire  a  gun  or  to  render  the  least  assistance  to  the 
fort.  The  real  object  of  all  that  warlike  display 
was  to  produce  a  battle — to  force  upon  the  South 
the  necessity  of  "firing  upon  the  flag,"  as  they 
called  it.  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Mr.  Seward  had  calcu 
lated  rightly  upon  the  use  they  could  make  of  such 
an  event  in  the  grand  scheme  of  raising  an  im 
mense  army. 

The  very  night  on  which  the  news  of  the  bom 


"THE   FIRST   GUN    OF   SffMTER."  Ill 

bardment  of  Fort  Sumter  came,  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
particularly  cheerful,  and  gave  a  reception  at  the 
White  House,  at  which  he  displayed  more  than  hia 
usual  vivacity.  Two  days  after  he  issued  his  first 
war  proclamation.  It  was  the  occasion  of  all 
others  that  suited  him  and  his  party.  Without 
some  such  event  as  the  bombardment  of  Fort 
Sumter,  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  raise  a  re 
spectable  army  to  effect  the  grand  scheme  of  abo 
lition.  The  news  of  that  bombardment  was  there 
fore  received  with  delight  by  the  whole  abolition 
party.  Those  who  had  been  praying  for  such  a 
thing  rubbed  their  hands  for  joy,  exclaiming, 
"  Now  we  have  got  'em  !  now  we  can  make  an  end 
of  slavery !" 

Then  commenced  the  business  of  "working  up 
the  Northern  mind,"  as  they  called  it.  Then  they 
instantly  started  the  "  flag  mania."  By  a  concert 
of  action  the  cry  was  everywhere  shouted  forth, 
"  the  flag  has  been  fired  upon !"  Those  who  for 
years  and  years  had  denounced  the  flag  of  our 
country  as  "  a  flaunting  he,"  and  "  a  polluted  rag," 
ran  out  a  flag  from  their  window,  or  went  into  the 
streets  to  mob  every  house  which  had  not  a  flag 
out.  Men  who  saw,  and  dared  to  smile  at  the 
bold  and  impudent  hypocrisy  of  all  this  sort  of 
demonstration,  were  knocked  down  by  the  bullies 
whom  the  Black  Republicans  had  engaged  to  per 
ambulate  the  streets  for  this  purpose.  In  the  be 
ginning  of  this  sort  of  display  the  whole  was  a 
piece  of  sheer  hypocrisy  on  the  part  of  the  leaders 
of  abolitionism.  But  gradually  the  thing  grew 


112  "THE   FIRST    GUN    OF   SUMTEK." 

into  an  absolute  mania,  and  swept  over  the  North 
lite  a  hurricane. 

Many  years  ago,  in  the  early  history  of  NOT* 
England,  what  is  now  known  as  the  witchcraft  ma« 
nia  stained  that  section  of  our  country  with  inno 
cent  blood.  Hundreds  who  had  always  borne  a 
good  character  believed  themselves  bewitched. 
Respectable  men  and  women  testified  under  oath 
that  they  had  seen  certain  old  women  riding 
broomsticks  a  mile  high  in  the  air.  These  old 
women  were  arrested  and  tried  and  hanged  as 
witches.  The  most  remarkable  part  is,  that  many 
of  the  accused  admitted  themselves  to  be  witches, 
and  died  on  the  gallows  confessing  that  they  were 
witches,  and  that  they  had  ridden  on  broomsticks 
through  the  air. 

All  this  monstrous  delusion  began,  in  the  first 
place,  by  the  imposture  of  a  few  bad  people,  but  it 
went  on  until  the  thing  grew  to  be  a  mania,  infect 
ing  the  whole  community  with  a  belief  in  witch 
craft  ;  and  it  was  not  until  many  innocent  persons 
had  suffered  death  that  it  could  be  stopped.  Now, 
that  was  a  case  where  a  whole  community  became 
insane  on  the  subject  of  witchcraft.  The  ministers 
of  the  Gospel  were  among  the  most  deluded  vic< 
tims  of  the  insanity,  and  were  the  most  zealoua 
advocates  for  the  hanging  of  all  who  were  accused 
of  witchcraft.  But  the  mania  at  last  passed  off, 
and  all  who  had  been  engaged  in  the  matter  were 
ashamed  of  the  part  they  had  borne  in  the  fata] 
business.  Perpetual  infamy  attaches  to  the  mem 
ory  of  those  days. 


"THE   FIRST    GUN    OF    SUMTER."  113 

Our  war  excitement  was  not  less  a  mania  than 
that  of  witchcraft.  Started,  in  the  first  place,  and 
worked  by  a  thousand  cunning  tricks  of  bad  peo 
ple,  and  of  abolitionists  who  were  bent  upon  'the 
insane  idea  of  making  negroes  the  equal  of  white 
people,  it  was  driven  on  until  hundreds  of  thou 
sands  who  had  really  no  sympathy  with  the  abom 
inable  objects  of  the  war,  were  swept  into  its 
bloody  current.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  honest 
soldiers  who,  in  their  own  hearts,  firmly  believed 
that  the  negro  was  best  off  in  "  slavery,"  enlisted 
and  risked  their  own  lives  in  fighting  to  emanci 
pate  him. 

Two-thirds  of  all  our  soldiers  abhorred  the  idea 
of  negro  equality,  even  while  they  were  fighting  for 
it.  Had  they  been  allowed  to  follow  the  bent  of 
their  own  reason  and  their  own  sympathies,  they 
would  a  thousand  times  sooner  have  fought  to 
keep  him  in  his  natural  place  of  subordination 
than  to  elevate  him  to  an  equality  with  themselves. 
It  was  only  through  a  great  excitement,  amount 
ing  to  a  mania,  and  through  the  most  stupendous 
deception,  that  they  were  drawn  into  the  business 
of  fighting  for  the  sole  benefit  of  Sambo. 

As  I  have  shown  you  in  former  chapters,  the  3ry 
for  the  "  flag,"  and  for  the  "  Union,"  was  all  an 
hypocrisy  and  a  cheat  on  the  part  of  the  Black 
Republicans.  They  had  been  long  known  as  ene 
mies  of  the  Union,  and  as  despisers  of  the  flag  of 
our  country. 

And  it  was  a  cunning  trick,  pre  wisely  worthy  of 
Mr.  Seward  and  Mr.  Lincoln,  to  cause  the  bom- 


114  "THE   FIRST   GUIS"    OF   SUMTEU." 

bardment  of  Fort  Sumter,  in  order  to  "fire  up  the 
Northern  heart,"  as  they  called  it.  The  sole  de 
sign  of  the  whole  thing  was  to  "  fire  up  the  North 
ern  heart"  to  fight  the  guilty  battle  of  abolition 
ism.  The  war  was  gotten  up  with  as  much  triclc 
and  skill  in  management  as  a  showman  uses  to  get 
the  populace  to  visit  his  menagerie.  Our  whole 
country  was  placarded  all  over  with  war  posters 
of  all  colors  and  sizes.  Drums  were  beating  and 
bands  playing  at  every  corner  of  the  streets  Nine- 
tenths  of  all  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel  were  pray 
ing  and  preaching  to  the  horrible  din  of  the  war- 
music,  and  the  profane  eloquence  of  slaughter. 

There  was  little  chance  for  any  man  to  exercise 
his  reason,  and  if  he  attempted  such  a  thing  he 
was  knocked  down  and  sometimes  murdered.  If 
an  editor  ventured  to  appeal  to  the  Constitution, 
his  office  was  either  destroyed  by  the  mob,  or  his 
paper  suspended  by  "the  order  of  the  Govern 
ment."  The  moment  the  war  opened  for  the 
emancipation  of  the  negroes,  the  liberty  of  the 
white  man  was  suspended. 

The  historian  of  these  shameful  and  criminal 
events  needs  no  other  proof  that  the  managers 
of  the  war  knew  that  they  were  perpetrating  a 
great  crime  than  the  fact  that  they  refused  to 
allow  any  man  to  reason  or  speak  in  opposition  to 
their  action.  The  cause  of  truth  and  justice  always 
flourishes  most  with  all  the  reasoning  that  argu 
ment  and  controversy  can  give  it.  Whenevei 
men  attempt  to  suppress  argument  and  free 
speech,  we  may  be  sure  that  they  know  their 
cause  to  be  a  bad  one. 


CHAPTEE   XIV. 

MB.  LINCOLN'S  FIRST  CALL  FOE  TBOOPS. 

So  far  as  the  "firing  on  Fort  Sumter"  had  gone  in 
the  way  of  getting  up  an  excitement  in  the  North, 
Mr.  Lincoln's  plans  for  inaugurating  a  great  abol 
ition  war  had  succeeded  to  his  satisfaction.  But 
there  was  a  great  legal  difficulty  in  his  way.  The 
Constitution  gave  him  no  power  to  raise  a  volun 
teer  army  for  the  purpose  of  fighting  any  of  the 
sovereign  States  of  this  Union.  When  in  the  con 
vention  which  framed  the  Constitution  a  proposi 
tion  was  made  to  give  the  Federal  Government 
power  to  use  military  force  against  a  non-comply 
ing  State,  it  was  unanimously  voted  down,  and  no 
such  power  was  ever  given  to  the  Federal  Govern 
ment  in  the  Constitution. 

Mr.  Lincoln  knew  this  very  well,  and  after  he 
had  made  up  his  mind  to  call  for  75,000  men  to 
fight  the  Southern  States,  he  was  at  a  loss  to  find 
even  the  shadow  of  a  legal  excuse  for  such  a  call. 
But  usurpers  have  rarely  waited  long  without  in 
venting  some  excuse  for  any  action  they  wished  to 
perform.  Mr.  Lincoln  did  not  wait  long  to  find 
an  excuse  for  his  extraordinary  call  for  an  army  to 
fight  the  States.  He  was  not  quite  shameless 
enough  to  pretend  that  the  Constitution  gave  him 


116       ME.  LINCOLN'S    FIRST    CALL   FOJS   TKOOPS. 

any  power  to  make  such  a  call,  but  he  hunted  up 
an  old  act  of  Congress  passed  in  1795,  to  enable 
the  Federal  Government  to  assist  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania  in  putting  down  what  is  known  as 
11  the  whisky  rebellion"  in  that  State. 

But  unfortunately  for  Mr.  Lincoln,  that  act  of 
1795  only  provided  for  calling  forth  the  militia  to 
suppress  an  insurrection  against  a  State  govern 
ment,  and  made  no  provision  that  can  even  be 
used  as  an  excuse  for  calling  forth  an  army  to 
assist  in  suppressing  an  opposition  to  the  Govern 
ment  of  the  United  States,  or  in  plain  words,  to 
enable  the  Federal  Government  to  make  war 
against  a  State  government. 

President  Buchanan  understood  the  import  of 
that  old  act  of  1795  perfectly,  and  he  said  :  "  Un 
der  the  act  of  1795,  the  President  is  precluded 
from  acting  even  upon  his  own  personal  and  abso 
lute  knowledge  of  the  existence  of  such  an  insur 
rection.  Before  he  can  call  forth  the  militia  for 
its  suppression,  he  must  first  be  applied  to  for  this 
purpose  by  the  appropriate  State  authorities,  in 
the  manner  prescribed  by  the  Constitution." 

Mr.  Lincoln's  call  for  troops  based  on  this  old 
act,  therefore,  was  not  only  illegal,  but  it  was  su 
premely  ridiculous.  "We  are  not  to  suppose  that 
he  was  really  so  ignorant  as  to  imagine  that  the 
act  justified  the  call  for  troops  to  operate  against 
the  governments  of  States,  which  was  passed  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  assisting  States  to  put  down 
insurrections  against  their  own  Government.  The 
very  fact  that  the  act  does  not  permit  the  Presi- 


ME.  LINCOLN'S  FLRST  CALL  FOE  TROOPS.     117 

dent  to  send  troops  into  a  State  to  assist  in  putting 
down  an  insurrection  which  he  may  know  to  exist, 
until  called  upon  by  the  authorities  of  the  State, 
settles  the  question  forever  as  to  the  illegal  and 
criminal  use  which  Mr.  Lincoln  made  of  it. 

His  call  for  troops  to  resist  the  acts  of  State 
Legislatures  and  Conventions  of  the  people  of  the 
States  was,  therefore,  no  more  justified  by  the  act 
of  1795,  than  old  John  Brown's  invasion  of  the 
State  of  Virginia  was  justified  by  that  act. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  first  call  for  75,000  troops  was  re 
ceived  with  a  shout  of  joy  by  all  the  old  enemies  of 
the  Union  as  our  fathers  made  it  in  the  North. 
With  the  mosfc  indecent  haste  they  jumped  to  be 
gin  the  slaughter.  It  was  discovered  that  the 
State  of  Massachusetts  had  been  quietly  preparing 
for  war,  even  before  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln. 
Indeed  the  "Republican"  party,  during  the  Lin 
coln  presidential  campaign,  was  a  military  organi 
zation.  The  infinite  number  of  "  Wide-awake" 
clubs  were  simply  so  many  military  companies. 
They  had  military  drills  in  their  secret  lodge- 
rooms,  were  all  uniformed  alike  with  a  sort  of 
military  cape  and  cloak  in  their  public  parades, 
and  had  their  general  officers,  captains,  lieuten 
ants,  etc. 

In  fact,  the  Black  Republican  party,  or  at  least 
that  portion  of  it  which  did  all  the  work  of  the 
presidential  campaign,  was  a  military  organization. 
In  case  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  election  they  were  deter- 
termined  to  have  war.  Some,  as  they  declared, 
"to  make  an  end  of  slavery."  Others,  to  over- 


Ii8     ME.  LINCOLN'S  FIRST  CALL  FOE  TEOOPS. 

throw  the  sovereignty  of  the  States,  and  carry  out 
the  old  Federalist  hope  of  making  what  Hamilton 
called  "  a  strong  government,"  by  which  was,  as 
we  have  seen,  meant,  something  like  a  monarchy. 
But  all  sorts  of  Black  Republicans  were  apparently 
made  happy  by  the  prospect  of  war. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  proclamation  also  aroused  the 
greatest  excitement  in  the  whole  South.  Every 
abolition  governor  of  course  responded  to  the  caL 
for  troops  with  great  alacrity.  But  those  govern 
ors  who  were  alike  opposed  to  abolition  and  seces 
sion  promptly  declared  that  under  our  Constitu 
tion  and  form  of  government,  the  President  had 
no  power  to  make  war  upon  a  State  for  any  cause. 

Governor  Magoffin,  of  Kentucky,  informed  Mr. 
Lincoln  that  his  State  would  "furnish  no  troops 
for  the  wicked  purpose  of  making  war  upon 
States." 

Governor  Ellis,  of  North  Carolina,  though  op 
posed  to  secession,  telegraphed  to  Washington  as 
follows  :  "  I  can  be  no  party  to  this  wicked  viola 
tion  of  the  laws  of  this  country,  and  especially  to 
this  war  which  is  being  waged  upon  a  free  and  in 
dependent  people." 

Governor  Jackson,  of  Missouri,  replied  to  Mr. 
Lincoln  :  "Your  requisition,  in  my  judgment,  is 
illegal,  unconstitutional,  and  revolutionary,  and  in 
its  objects,  inhuman  and  diabolical." 

Governor  Letcher,  of  Virginia,  who  was  also 
opposed  to  secession,  wrote  to  Mr.  Lincoln  that 
his  call  for  troops  was  "  not  within  the  perview  of 
the  Constitution  or  the  act  of  1795." 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  FIEST  CALL  FOB  TROOPS.     119 

Not  until  Mr.  Lincoln's  war  proclamation  did 
the  State  of  Virginia  pass  an  act  of  secession. 

The  act  of  secession  passed  by  Virginia  on  the 
17th  day  of  April,  1861,  declared  that  : 

"  The  people  of  Virginia  recognize  the  American 
principle,  that  government  is  founded  on  the  con 
sent  of  the  governed,  and  the  right  of  the  people 
of  the  several  States  of  this  Union,  for  just  cause, 
to  withdraw  from  their  association  under  the  Fed 
eral  Government,  with  the  people  of  the  other 
States,  and  to  erect  new  governments  for  their 
better  security  ;  and  they  never  will  consent  that 
the  Federal  power,  which  is,  in  part,  their  power, 
shall  be  exerted  for  the  purpose  of  subjugating  the 
people  of  such  States  to  the  Federal  authority." 

There  was  nothing  new  in  the  principle  here 
announced.  It  is  precisely  the  same  as  that  of  our 
Declaration  of  Independence.  It  is  precisely  the 
same  as  Jefferson  urged  in  opposition  to  the  old 
monarchist  party  in  this  country.  But  the  tide  of 
death  and  destruction  was  then  let  loose.  It  was 
a  grand  and  bloody  carnival  of  those  dark  spirits 
who  had  always  hated  the  democratic  government 
of  the  United  States.  Those  who  hated  the  per 
fectly  free  system  of  government  established  by 
our  fathers,  and  those  wild  fanatics  who  were  bent 
on  negro  equality  had  united  bloody  hands  over 
what  they  meant  to  be  the  grave  of  the  old  Union 
and  the  final  overthrow  of  the  democratic  princi 
ple  of  government. 


CHAPTEE  XV. 

THE  RUSH  OF  TROOPS  TO  WASHINGTON. 

I  HAVE  said  that  Massachusetts  began  to  prepare 
for  war  before  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  Gov 
ernor  Andrew  of  that  State  boasted  of  the  fact 
himself.  So  the  troops  of  Massachusetts  were  the 
the  very  first  to  jump  into  uniform  at  the  call  of 
the  President.  They  were  passing  through  the 
streets  of  New  York,  on  the  way  to  Washington, 
even  before  the  President's  proclamation  had  been 
generally  read.  They  did  not  march  through  the 
the  streets  of  New  York  City,  so  much  as  they 
skipped,  and  hopped,  and  jumped.  They  came  on 
screaming  and  yelling  like  Indians,  and  went 
through  the  city,  singing  "John  Brown's*  soul  is 
marching  on !" 

Alas,  it  was  too  true  that  John  Brown's  soul  was 
marching  on.  For  it  was  just  that  and  nothing 
more.  It  was  to  "  finish  the  work  of  the  martyr, 
old  John  Brown,"  which  they  declared  they  were 
going  to  do.  John  Brown's  own  raid  was  one 
which  appeared  to  be  pretty  much  on  his  own  hook ; 
but  now  we  were  to  witness  something  of  a  similar 
kind  on  a  grander  scale,  and  carried  on  by  a  Fed- 


THE   KUSH    OF   TKOOPS   TO    WASHINGTON.       121 

eral  Administration,  at  the  expense  of  the  people 
of  the  United  States. 

These  Massachusetts  soldiers,  rushing  on  so  hot 
and  clamorous  towards  the  scene  of  bloodshed, 
wore  a  sad  sight  for  any  good  man  or  true  patriot 
to  witness.  They  were  the  representatives  of  the 
very  traitors  and  fanatics  who,  only  a  few  years 
before,  had  publicly  burned  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  in  Boston,  on  the  Fourth  of  July. 
They  came  from  a  State  which  for  a  quarter  of  a 
century  had  supported  a  newspaper  which  flaunted 
the  motto  that,  "  The  Union  is  an  agreement  with 
hell,  and  the  Constitution  a  covenant  with  death." 
The  leaders  of  the  party  in  Massachusetts  from 
which  these  armed  Puritans  came  out,  had  cun 
ningly  instructed  them  to  say  that  they  were  going 
to  "  fight  for  the  Union."  That  was  the  cry  they 
were  told  to  keep  up  on  the  way  ;  but  in  the  gush 
ing  passion  of  their  hearts  they  everywhere  sung 
out  their  real  mission,  to  "  revenge  the  martyr,  old 
John  Brown !" 

A  majority  of  these  wild  soldiers  of  Massachu 
setts  comprehended  nothing  higher  than  that. 
The  leaders  and  politicians,  whom  they  had  left  in 
safety  at  home,  cared  nothing  for  old  John  Brown, 
except  so  far  as  his  name  was  useful  to  them  it. 
pumping  up  the  bitter  waters  of  a  strife  which  was 
to  end  in  the  overthrow  of  the  democratic  princi 
ples  of  our  Government. 

A  merchant  of  Boston,  a  man  of  prominence  in 
his  State,  said  to  the  writer  of  this  history  during 
the  second  year  of  the  war  :  "  This  war  will  put 


122       THE   RUSH    OP   TROOPS    TO    WASHINGTON. 

an  end  to  democracy,  and  that  alone  will  be  worth 
all  the  blood  which  is  shed."  Alas,  that  so  many 
democrats  should  have  run  blindly  into  their  trap. 

As  these  Massachusetts  soldiers  went  on,  danc 
ing  and  singing,  a  great  excitement  was  aroused, 
and  applause  greeted  them  at  almost  every  point 
along  the  route,  until  they  reached  the  city  of  Bal 
timore.  In  that  city  the  march  of  the  first  install 
ment  of  the  abolition  army  was  met  with  the  re 
sistance  of  what  appeared  to  be  the  whole  people. 
The  railroad  track  was  barricaded  so  effectually  as 
to  entirely  prevent  the  passage  of  the  cars,  and 
every  street  and  avenue  was  blocked  up  by  thou 
sands  of  people,  armed  with  stones  and  clubs,  to 
resist  the  advance  of  the  soldiers.  The  soldiers 
fired  indiscriminately  into  the  dense  crowd  of  men, 
women  and  children,  which  produced  a  scene  that 
was  frightful  to  look  upon,  in  which  a  number  of 
citizens  and  soldiers  were  killed. 

For  several  weeks  no  more  soldiers  were  allowed 
to  pass  through  Baltimore.  The  railroad  bridges 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  city  were  all  destroyed,  so 
that  all  the  abolition  troops  were  obliged  to  go 
round  through  Annapolis  on  the  route  to  Wash 
ington. 

The  war  so  long  looked  for,  so  long  prayed  for, 
by  the  abolitionists,  was  now  begun  in  earnest. 
On  the  19th  of  April  Mr.  Lincoln  put  forth  another 
proclamation  to  declare  all  the  ports  of  the  South 
blockaded. 

The  new  Confederate  Government  now  formally 
recognized  the  existence  of  war,  and  commenced 


THE    KTJSH    OF    TROOPS    TO    WASHINGTON.        123 

in  great  earnest  to  prepare  for  the  worst.  Vir 
ginia,  which  had  so  long  tried  in  vain  to  induce 
the  Black  Republicans  of  Congress  and  Mr.  Lin 
coln  to  accept  the  fair  terms  of  compromise  and 
peace  offered  by  the  South,  in  the  Crittenden  resolu 
tions,  was  now  already  swarming  with  hostile  aboli 
tion  soldiers.  At  that  time  Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee  was 
a  colonel  of  cavalry  in  the  United  States  army,  but 
when  he  saw  his  native  State  invaded,  he  resigned 
his  commission,  and  at  once  assumed  command  of 
the  State  forces  of  Virginia.  A  large  force  of  Mr. 
Lincoln's  troops  held  Harper's  Ferry  in  Virginia, 
but  were  compelled  to  evacuate  it  in  consequence 
of  the  general  rising  of  the  Virginians  to  defend 
their  own  homes.  Before  leaving,  however,  they 
set  fire  to  all  the  buildings,  machine  shops,  and 
other  public  structures.  This  took  place  on  the 
19th  of  April. 

The  next  day  Mr.  Lincoln's  soldiers  were  ordered 
to  use  the  torch  in  another  part  of  Virginia.  All 
the  works  of  the  Norfolk  Navy  Yard  were  fired, 
producing  such  a  conflagration  that  the  city  of 
Norfolk  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  saved  from 
the  devouring  flames.  All  the  ships,  except  one, 
in  the  harbor,  were  fired  and  scuttled.  The  sword 
and  the  faggot  were  now  fairly  launched  upon 
their  long  and  terrible  errand  of  destruction.  The 
awful  fact  stared  the  whole  South  in  the  face,  that 
the  only  hope  of  protection  against  the  objects  of 
the  Black  Republican  party  lay  in  its  means  of 
self-defence.  A  tremendous  army  was  gathering 
at  Washington.  The '  Black  Republican  members 


124      THE    RUSH  OP   TKOOPS   TO   WASHINGTON. 

of  Congress,  and  the  papers  of  that  party,  breathed 
only  threats  of  appalling  slaughter.  They  were 
going  "  to  leave  the  ruts  of  their  war-chariots  so 
deep  in  the  soil  of  the  South,  that  eternity  would 
not  wear  them  out."  That  was  the  kind  of  lan 
guage  they  habitually  used. 

At  that  moment  the  despotic  designs  of  the 
Lincoln  Administration  were  fully  revealed  in 
events  passing  in  Maryland.  That  State,  while  it 
passed  resolutions  against  the  invasion  of  sovereign 
States  by  Federal  troops,  took  no  steps  to  secede. 
Indeed  the  State  Legislature  passed  a  resolution 
against  calling  a  convention  to  discuss  the  pro 
priety  of  seceding.  But  this  was  no  protection 
against  the  despotism  agreed  upon  ir.  the  Black 
Republican  councils  at  Washington.  The  mayor 
and  police  of  Baltimore  were  seizoci  and  plunged 
into  a  military  prison,  where  they  were  treated 
with  a  barbarity  truly  revolting.  They  were 
not  allowed  the  privileges  which  always  in  civil 
ized  countries  are  permitted  to  convicted  mur 
derers. 

The  constitution,  laws,  and  courts  of  the  State 
were  all  stricken  down  by  u  single  blow.  The 
State  Legislature  was  dispeided  at  the  point  of 
the  bayonet,  and  its  members  spirited  away  to  dis 
tant  dungeons.  Private  houses  were  searched  by 
the  officials  of  the  usurpers  at  Washington.  Pri 
vate  letters  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  were  seized 
and  sent  to  Washington  to  be  read  by  Mr.  Seward 
and  Mr.  Lincoln  as  they  sat  upon  their  new  throne 
of  usurped  authority.  Men  were  thrown  into  dun 


THE   KUSH    OF   TROOPS   TO    WASHINGTON.       125 

geons  on  the  suspicion  of  having  "  sympathies"  in 
opposition  to  Black  Republicans.  Any  debased 
wretch  could  easily  procure  the  arrest  of  a  gentle- 
man  or  lady  against  whom  he  had  a  spite.  And 
when  the  venerable  Chief  Justice  of  the  United 
States  issued  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  to  bring 
these  victims  out  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  their 
arrest,  Mr.  Lincoln  telegraphed  to  his  military 
tools  to  pay  no  respect  to  the  orders  of  the  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States ! 

So  you  see  that  the  party  had  at  last  come  fully 
into  power,  which  tried  to  establish  a  government 
of  monarchical  powers  after  our  Revolution.  You 
have  also  seen,  in  previous  chapters  of  this  history, 
that  the  same  monarchist  party  attempted  to  revo 
lutionize  or  overthrow  the  free  government  our 
fathers  did  establish,  while  it  was  in  power  from 
1793  to  1800,  under  the  Administration  of  old  John 
Adams.  This  party,  so  long  hating,  so  long  op 
posing  the  free  democratic  government  of  our 
country,  found  in  Abraham  Lincoln  a  willing  tool 
of  its  revolutionary  and  despotic  principles.  - 

His  official  newspaper  in  Washington,  edited  by 
a  man  of  the  most  infamous  political  reputation, 
by  the  name  of  Forney,  did  not  scruple  to  confess 
that  the  plan  of  revolutionizing  our  Government 
had  been  fully  determined  upon,  and  in  a  leading 
editorial  he  said :  "Another  principle  must  certainly 
be  embodied  in  our  re-organized  form  of  govern 
ment.  The  men  who  shape  the  legislation  of  this 
country,  when  the  war  is  past,  must  remember  that 
what  we  want  is  power  and  strength.  The  problem 


126      THE   RUSH    OP   TROOPS   TO    WASHINGTON. 

will  be  to  combine  the  forms  of  a  republican  govern* 
ment  with  the  powers  of  a  monarchical  government." 
Here  we  find  Mr.  Lincoln's  own  organ  confessing 
that  they  had  fully  entered  upon  the  business  of 
changing  the  free  government  of  our  fathers  into 
a  government  possessing  the  power  of  a  monarchy  I 

At  the  same  time  another  leading  Black  Repub 
lican  paper,  the  North  American  of  Philadelphia, 
said  :  "  This  war  has  already  shown  the  absurdity 
of  a  government  of  limited  powers  ;  it  has  shown 
that  the  power  of  every  government  ought  to  be 
and  must  be  unlimited." 

Did  ever  the  Emperor  of  Austria  talk  in  lan 
guage  more  contemptuous  of  a  republican  form 
of  government,  or  more  laudatory  of  monarchical 
power  ?  So  you  see  that  not  only  the  acts  of  Mr. 
Lincoln,  but  the  tone  and  language  of  the  leaders 
of  his  party,  were  all  in  harmony  with  the  idea  of 
despotic  power.  Under  the  cunning  but  hypocri 
tical  cry  for  the  Union,  these  traitors  were  aiming, 
not  only  at  the  eternal  overthrow  of  the  Union, 
but  at  the  destruction  of  the  free  system  of  gov 
ernment  established  by  the  patriots  of  the  Revo 
lution. 


CHAPTEE   XVI. 

THE   FIEST    GREAT   BATTLE. 

BEFORE  the  great  battle  of  Manassas,  or  .Bull 
Run,  as  it  is  generally  called,  there  were  several 
smaller  engagements  between  the  Federal  and 
Confederate  soldiers.  The  first  of  these  occurred 
at  Bethel,  in  Virginia,  on  10th  of  June,  1861.  At 
that  place  Colonel  Magruder  was  intrenched  with 
a  small  force,  when  General  Butler  sent  General 
Pierce,  of  Massachusetts,  to  engage  them.  You 
may  be  sure  that  General  Butler  did  not  go  him 
self,  for  he  made  himself  quite  as  remarkable  for 
always  keeping  out  of  the  range  of  bullets  himself, 
as  he  did  afterwards  for  his  thefts  and  brutal 
treatment  of  all  men  or  women  who  fell  as  pris 
oners  into  his  hands. 

This  attack  upon  Colonel  Magruder's  force 
proved  most  disastrous  to  the  assailing  party. 
The  Massachusetts  troops  met  with  a  most  ruin 
ous  defeat.  At  this  engagement,  Major  Winthrop, 
a  most  gallant  Federal  officer  and  estimable  gen 
tleman,  was  killed.  The  Confederate  Colonel  Hill, 
of  a  North  Carolina  regiment,  in  his  official  de 
spatch,  referred  to  the  daring  bravery  of  Major 
Winthrop  with  terms  of  soldierly  admiration  for 
a  brave  enemy.  Major  Winthrop  belonged  to 


128  THE    FIEST   GKEAT    BATTLE. 

General  Butler's  staff,  and  was  in  all  respects  a 
most  honorable  contrast  to  his  cruel  and  cowardly 
commander. 

Immediately  after  this  little  battle  of  Bethel,  a 
grand  movement  of  the  Federal  army  was  made 
towards  Richmond,  which  had  then  become  the 
capital  of  the  new  Confederate  Government.  The 
main  column  of  the  army  under  General  McDowell 
bore  directly  down  upon  the  Confederate  forces 
under  General  Beauregard  at  Manassas.  In  num 
bers  and  equipments  it  was  a  splendid  army,  and 
is  supposed  to  have  been  at  least  four  times  as 
large  as  the  Confederate  force  under  Beauregard, 
which  it  was  marching  against.  The  abolitionists 
and  all  their  sympathizers  and  supporters  were 
flushed  with  the  wildest  ideas  of  a  sudden  and 
complete  overthrow  of  the  "  rebellion,"  as  it  was 
called. 

How  sovereign  States,  which  are  in  no  sense  sub 
jects  of  any  government,  can  rebel,  I  have  never 
heard  anybody  attempt  to  explain.  It  is  easy  to 
see  how  the  Federal  Government,  which  exists 
only  by  the  limited  and  denned  powers  delegated 
to  it  by  the  real  and  only  "  sovereigns,"  the  States, 
or  the  people  thereof,  can  rebel  against  its  makers 
and  owners,  but  that  the  makers,  that  is,  the 
States,  can  rebel  against  its  creature,  that  is,  the 
Federal  Government,  is  as  foolish  as  to  say  that 
the  Creator  of  the  world  can  rebel  against  the 
creatures  he  has  made.  The  word  rebel  is  not  ap 
plicable  to  sovereign  bodies.  States  may  be  guilty 
of  breaking  the  compact  which  they  have  made 


THE    FIKST    GEEAT    BATTLE.  129 

with  each  other,  but  that  is  simply  a  breach  of  com 
pact,  and  not  a  rebellion,  because  they  are  equal 
sovereign  communities.  Least  of  all  can  the  States 
rebel  against  the  Federal  Government,  because 
that  is  not  a  party  to  the  compact  at  all — but  only 
an  agent  delegated  by  the  compact. 

But  those  who  rushed  in  to  swell  the  ranks  of 
the  tremendous  abolition  army  did  not  reason  so 
far  as  this.  All  that  the  Black  Eepublicans  cared 
about  was  the  overwhelming  and  the  destruction 
of  the  Southern  States.  They  did  not  stop  to  ask 
whether  their  cause  was  just — whether  the  Consti 
tution  of  our  country  gave  to  one  section  the  right 
fco  raise  such  a  tremendous  army  to  destroy  the 
other.  Oh,  no,  such  a  thought  never  entered  into 
cheir  considerations.  They  had  a  splendid  army, 
which  they  felt  sure  would  march,  almost  without 
interruption,  to  the  capture  of  Kichmond,  and 
thence  on  through  the  South  to  the  Gulf  of  Mex 
ico,  if  it  pleased. 

But  when  it  reached  Bull  Kun,  a  few  miles  from 
Manassas,  it  was  suddenly  confronted,  on  the  18th 
day  of  July,  with  the  advance  brigades  of  General 
Beauregard's  army  at  Manassas.  The  engagement 
which  took  place  resulted  in  the  decided  repulse 
of  General  McDowell ;  so  much  so,  that  it  con 
vinced  him  that  Manassas  could  not  be  reached  by 
his  army  on  that  line,  and  a  new,  or  what  is  called 
a  flank  movement  was  at  once  resolved  upon.  So 
three  days  after  this  defeat  at  Bull  Kun,  General 
Scott  gave  his  orders  to  General  McDowell  for  a 


_30  THE    FIRST    GKEAT    BATTLE. 

grand  advance  of  the  whole  Army  of  the  Potomaa 
on  Manassas. 

So  confident  were  the  authorities  at  Washing 
ton  of  perfect  success,  that  no  secret  was  made  in 
any  circles  of  the  grand  movement.  Congress  ad 
journed  to  witness,  as  one  of  the  members  said, 
•'  the  fun  of  the  battle."  All  the  roads  between 
Washington  and  Manassas  were  literally  jammed 
with  noisy  and  jolly  spectators  going  to  witness 
the  fight.  Besides  members  of  Congress,  and 
high  officials  of  the  Administration,  there  were 
ministers  of  the  Gospel,  gay  women,  and  mer 
chants  and  editors  from  Philadelphia,  New  York, 
and  Boston,  all  rushing,  crushing,  and  joking  along, 
as  though  they  were  going  out  to  a  horse-racing, 
instead  of  to  the  awful  slaughter  of  their  fellow 
men.  It  was  a  grand  and  jolly  picnic,  with  plenty 
of  rum,  whisky,  brandy,  and  champagne  along 
to  be  drunk  at  the  general  merrymaking  and 
jollification  which  was  to  be  held  after  the  tremen 
dous  and  triumphant  slaughter  of  human  beings. 
The  idea  of  the  defeat  of  this  grand  army  seems 
never  for  an  instant  to  have  entered  into  the  heads 
of  these  confident  abolitionists. 

General  McDowell  ordered  his  army  to  be  in 
motion  at  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  21st 
of  July.  By  nine  o'clock  the  work  of  death  com 
menced.  The  slaughter  was  terrible  on  both  sides. 
The  surging  masses,  now  rushing  forward  and  now 
falling  back  on  each  side,  showed  that  the  fight 
was  intensely  desperate.  The  terrible  and  cease 
less  roar  of  the  cannon,  together  with  the  clouds 


THE   FIRST    GREAT   BATTLE.  131 

of  sinoke  and  dust  which  obscured  the  heavens, 
clothed  the  whole  scene  with  a  woe  as  terrible  as 
the  judgment  day  of  the  ungodly.  It  was  Sunday. 
A  strange  time  and  a  strange  occasion  to  be  used 
as  a  gala  day  by  so  many  distinguished  officials, 
ministers  of  the  Gospel,  and  other  professed  Chris 
tian  people ! 

At  mid-day  it  seemed  that  the  Confederate 
forces  were  surely  being  crushed  by  the  vastly  su 
perior  numbers  that  were  constantly  massed  and 
hurled  against  their  shattered  and  mangled  col 
umns.  There  was  a  moment  when  the  Confed 
erate  commanders  evidently  thought  they  had  lost 
the  day,  but  their  troops  fell  back  sullenly,  as  if 
they  preferred  to  die  on  the  field  of  battle  rather 
than  yield  to  the  foot  of  the  invader.  General  Bee, 
whose  command  seems  to  have  been  entirely  over 
whelmed  by  vastly  superior  numbers,  rode  up  to 
General  Jackson  and  in  despairing  accents  said  : 
"  General,  they  are  beating  us  back."  "  Sir," 
coolly  replied  the  invincible  Jackson,  "  we'll  give 
them  the  bayonet."  At  these  determined  words, 
General  Bee  appealed  to  his  overwhelmed  and  dis 
heartened  soldiers  to  stand  their  ground  and  meet 
death  rather  than  yield  to  the  foe,  and  pointing  to 
General  Jackson,  he  said  •  "  See  *  there  is  Jack 
son  standing  like  a  stone  wall !"  It  was  from  this 
circumstance  that  General  Jackson  obtained  tho 
name  of  "  Stonewall,"  a  name  which  he  will  wear  as 
long  as  the  fame  of  his  heroism  survives ;  and  that 
will  be  as  long  as  the  memory  of  man  lasts. 
The  example  set  by  General  Jackson  and  hia 


132  THE   FIKOT   GEEAT   BATTLE. 

men,  of  standing  like  a  stone  wall,  under  the  most 
terrible  and  deadly  fire,  together  with  his  cool  and 
determined  words,  "  Sir,  we'll  give  them  the  bay 
onet,"  acted  like  magic  upon  the  discouraged  and 
yielding  men  under  General  Bee's  command. 
A.gain  the  Confederates,  it  could  be  seen,  were 
gaining  ground  inch  by  inch,  and  at  three  o'clock, 
reinforcements  having  arrived  under  General  J.  E. 
Johnston,  decided  the  fate  of  the  day. 

General  Bee  fell  mortally  wounded  at  the  head 
of  his  command  while  gallantly  leading  it  through 
an  open  field. 

The  defeat  of  the  Northern  troops  was  complete. 
It  was  more  than  a  defeat,  it  was  a  route.  An 
army  that  an  hour  before  was  displaying  the  great 
est  confidence  and  heroism  in  battle  was  flying  in 
the  wildest  confusion  and  dismay.  Panic-stricken 
soldiers,  and  still  more  frightened  members  of 
Congress,  merchants,  ministers,  gay  ladies,  heads 
of  departments,  teamsters,  and  loafers  of  every  de 
scription,  were  all  rushing,  scrambling,  dashing 
and  tumbling  along  together  in  frantic  confusion. 
The  very  horses  seemed  to  partake  of  the  general 
fright.  Wounded  soldiers  imploringly  caught 
hold  of  the  carriages  of  members  of  Congress  and 
others,  with  grasps  of  despair,  and  were  actually 
beaten  off  with  heavy  blows  upon  their  fingers. 
Confederate  cannon  were  roaring  behind  them. 
Shot  and  shell  hissing  over  their  heads  ;  while 
Stuart's  cavalry  was  hotly  dogging  the  rear  of  the 
flying  legions. 

Thus  the  defeated  army  not  only  ran  back  to 


THE   FIRST    GREAT   BATTLE.  133 

Washington,  but  great  numbers  actually  ran 
through  Washington,  and  kept  up  the  flight  until 
the  plains  of  Maryland  and  the  hills  of  Pennsylva 
nia  were  reached  as  asylums  of  safety.  Hundreds 
of  soldiers  exchanged  clothes  with  the  negroes,  in 
order  the  more  easily  to  effect  their  escape. 

All  the  champagne  and  other  expensive  winea 
and  liquors,  taken  out  for  the  Congressional  pic 
nic,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Confederates.  So 
might  Washington  have  easily  fallen  into  their 
hands,  too,  had  they  kept  up  the  pursuit.  For 
there  was  nothing  to  prevent  the  capture  of  Wash 
ington  after  this  deplorable  rout  at  Manassas. 
And  why  the  Confederates  did  not  follow  up  theii 
great  victory,  and  render  it  complete  by  the  cap 
ture  of  Washington,  remains  the  great  mystery  of 
the  war.  Rumor  says  that  it  was  the  wish  of  Gen 
Beauregard,  and  also  of  General  Jackson  and 
General  Johnston,  to  push  right  on  and  take  the 
capital,  but  that  they  were  withheld  by  the  orders* 
of  President  Davis.  So  far  did  General  Jackson 
carry  his  feelings  of  disappointment  that  he  ac 
tually  tendered  his  resignation,  but  was  induced 
to  reconsider  that  determination  by  the  entreaty  ol 


*  Since  tlie  first  editions  of  this  work  were  put  to  press 
it  has  been  ascertained  that  the  general  impression  as  to 
President  Davis'  restraining  General  Johnston  at  the  battlf 
of  Bull  Run  has  been  incorrect.  An  advance  was  simply  a 
military  impossibility.  The  reported  resignation  of  General 
Jackson  has  no  better  foundation. 


134  THE   FIEST    GEEAT   BATTLE. 

friends,  aided  by  Ms  religious  conviction  of  the 
justice  of  their  cause. 

The  effect  of  the  humiliating  defeat  at  Manassaa 
was  fearful  indeed.  Disappointment  and  mortifi 
cation,  however,  are  not  the  words  to  express  the 
state  of  the  Black  Republican  sentiment  and  feel 
ing-  at  the  North.  Rage  is  the  word.  Every  man 
in  the  streets  who  did  not  join  in  swearing  eternal 
vengeance  against  the  South,  was  "  spotted"  as  a 
"  rebel  sympathizer."  Bands  of  noisy  bullies  pa 
raded  the  streets,  insulting  and  threatening  every 
man  whose  conversation  was  not  as  violent  as  the 
rest.  It  was  almost  dangerous  for  a  man  to  wear 
the  manners  of  a  gentleman.  Everybody  was  ex 
pected  to  rave.  Black  Republican  sentiment  was 
especially  severe  on  General  Scott.  It  was  de 
clared  that  he  was  too  old  to  manage  such  a  cam 
paign.  Some  went  so  far  as  to  accuse  him  of  being 
at  heart  a  "  rebel,"  and  of  "  wanting  the  South  to 
succeed."  There  was,  of  course,  not  the  slightest 
justice  in  such  a  charge. 

General  Scott  was  not  capable  of  comprehend 
ing  the  real  design  for  which  the  war  was  waged, 
nor  of  measuring  the  political  magnitude  of  the 
bloody  events  upon  which  the  country  was  enter 
ing.  He  viewed  the  whole  matter  only  with  the 
eye  of  a  soldier,  which  is  not  often  the  eye  either 
of  statesmanship  or  justice.  But  there  was  truth 
:n  the  complaint  that  General  Scott  was  too  old. 
General  McDowell  also  came  in  for  his  full  share 
of  abuse.  He  was  denounced  as  "  incompetent ;" 
and  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was 


GEN.  GEORGE  B.   McCLELLAN. 


Page  135. 


THE    FIRST   GREAT   BATTLE.  135 

conferred  upon  General  George  B.  McClellan,  who 
had  just  won  laurels  in  a  small  battle  at  Rich 
Mountain,  in  Western  Virginia,  and  who  was  prob 
ably  the  ablest  general  connected  with  the  Black 
Republican  army.  General  McClellan  at  once  set 
himself  to  the  work  of  repairing  the  broken  and 
utterly  demoralized  Army  of  the  Potomac.  It  was 
a  long  and  laborious  task,  as  this  history  will  show. 

Mr.  Lincoln,  in  order  to  give  a  nourish  of  pa 
triotism  to  his  war,  had  called  Congress  to  meet 
together  in  special  session  on  the  national  anni 
versary  of  the  Fourth  of  July.  The  result  of  the 
battle  of  Manassas  had  shown  that  the  South  was 
not  to  be  subjugated  in  "sixty  days,"  as  many 
shallow  people  had  predicted.  The  army,  or  what 
was  left  of  it,  was  mostly  three  months'  men,  who 
had  volunteered  to  defend  the  capital.  It  was  now 
necessary  to  raise  a  large  army  for  longer  terms 
of  enlistment.  But  under  the  general  belief  exist 
ing  that  the  Black  Republican  party  intended  to 
carry  out  their  negro  equality  principles,  it  was 
difficult  to  induce  men  to  enlist. 

Some  assurances  on  this  point  were  absolutely 
necessary,  or  else  it  was  doubtful  whether  the 
Northern  masses  could  be  got  into  the  war,  Ac 
cordingly  Congress,  immediately  after  the  battle 
of  Manassas,  passed  the  following  resolution  de 
fining  the  objects  of  the  war  : 

"  Resolved,  That  this  war  is  not  waged  on  our 
part  in  any  spirit  of  oppression,  or  for  any  pur 
pose  of  conquest,  or  for  interfering  with  the  rights 
or  established  institutions  of  those  Slates,  but  to  de- 
10 


136  THE   FIRST   GREAT   BATTLE- 

fend  and  maintain  the  supremacy  of  the  Constitu< 
tion,  and  to  preserve  the  Union  with  all  the  dig 
nity  and  rights  of  the  several  States  unimpaired— « 
and  that  as  soon  as  these  objects  are  accomplished 
the  war  ought  to  cease." 

Upon  the  solemn  promise  embraced  in  this  reso 
lution,  an  army  of  500,000  men  was  called  for,  and 
an  expenditure  of  $500,000,000  authorized  by  Con 
gress  to  carry  on  the  war.  That  this  pledge  was 
shamefully  broken  after  the  men  had  been  got  into 
the  army,  will  surprise  no  one  when  it  is  remem 
bered  by  what  a  mean  trick  Mr.  Seward  and  Mr. 
Lincoln  had  inaugurated  the  war  itself. 

To  show  still  further  how  shamefully  Mr.  Lin 
coln  deceived  the  people,  we  will  quote  from  a  let 
ter  written  by  Simon  Cameron,  Secretary  of  "War, 
in  August,  1861,  to  General  Butler,  at  Fortress 
Monroe,  wherein  he  says  :  "  It  is  the  desire  of  the 
President  that  all  existing  rights  in  all  the  States 
be  fully  respected  and  maintained.  The  war  now 
prosecuted  on  the  part  of  the  Federal  Government 
is  a  war  for  the  Union,  for  the  preservation  of  ail 
the  constitutional  rights  of  the  States  and  the 
citizens  of  the  States  in  the  Union."  All  intelli 
gent  people  knew  that  this  was  false,  and  that  the 
war  was  prosecuted  for  no  such  purpose.  Yet  it 
served  the  object  for  which  it  was  intended.  It 
deceived  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  ar 
dent  young  men,  and  thus  got  them  into  the  army. 
After  the  object  of  the  war  was  changed,  they  were 
shot  down  for  mutiny  if  they  refused  to  fight  to 
free  negroes! 


CHAPTER  XVH. 

CAMPAIGN   IN    THE   WEST. 

WHILE  the  events  I  have  described  were  going 
on  in  Virginia,  the  campaign  in  the  West  was  mov 
ing  on  vigorously,  though  in  a  smaller  way.  At 
St.  Louis  many  citizens  were  shot  down  in  the 
street.  In  some  instances  women  and  children 
were  thus  murdered  by  the  Black  Republican  sol 
diery.  The  State  had  taken  no  steps  towards  se 
cession.  But  as  the  laws  of  the  States  and  the 
property  and  lives  of  its  citizens  were  already  the 
prey  of  soldiers  in  Federal  uniform,  it  is  cer 
tainly  true  that  the  Federal  Administration  began 
the  work  of  subjugating  the  State  in  earnest  before 
any  signs  of  secession  were  apparent  in  the  people 
or  authorities  of  the  State. 

Governor  Jackson  called  out  the  Missouri  militia, 
who  were  encamped  under  the  laws  of  the  State  at 
a  place  called  Camp  Jackson,  near  the  city  of  St. 
Louis.  These  State  troops  were  compelled  to  sur 
render  to  a  superior  force  of  abolition  soldiers 
tinder  Captain  Lyon,  who  was  afterwards  made  a 
general  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  was  killed  not  long 
after  at  the  battle  of  Springfield.  Immediately 
after  this  surrender,  Governor  Jackson  called  for 
50,000  volunteers  for  State  defence.  He  appointed 


138  CAMPAIGN   IN   THE    WEST. 

Stirling  Price  Major  General  of  the  State  forces  of 
Missouri,  and  also  appointed  eight  or  nine  briga 
dier  generals. 

On  the  20th  of  June,  1861,  General  Lvon,  at  the 
bead  of  TOGO  well  armed  and  well  drilled  Federal 
troops,  started  for  the  capture  of  Booneville.  At 
that  place  was  stationed  Colonel  Marmaduke,  with 
about  800  State  troops,  poorly  armed  with  the 
poorer  sort  of  rifles  and  shot  guns,  with  no  can 
non,  and  very  little  ammunition.  Understanding 
the  superior  force  and  equipment  of  the  enemy, 
and  well  knowing  that  it  would  be  impossible  for 
eight  hundred  men  poorly  armed  to  stand  against 
8000  men  well  armed,  Colonel  Marmaduke  ordered 
a  retreat.  But  this  the  men  refused  to  do,  declar 
ing  that  they  would  not  leave  without  giving  the 
foe,  as  they  called  it,  "a  peppering."  So  they 
stood  their  ground,  with  no  commander  but  their 
captain  and  lieutenant.  A  fight  ensued  which 
lasted  nearly  two  hours,  in  which  three  Mis- 
sourians  were  killed  and  twentv  wounded,  whita 
the  Federal  loss  was,  in  killed  and  wounded,  over 
one  hundred.  But  "the  barefoot  rebel  militia," 
as  they  were  called,  were  forced  to  fly,  after  that 
gallant  little  resistance. 

There  were  several  unimportant  fights  following 
immediately  this  skirmish  at  Booneville.  A  man 
who  called  himself  Colonel  Cook,  a  brother  of  ihe 
infamous  B.  F.  Cook,  who  was  hanged  with  old 
John  Brown  in  Virginia,  had  raised  a  force  of 
abolitionists,  under  the  name  of  "  Home  Guards/1 
*o  the  numbev  of  »l>«nt  one  thousand.  Upon  this 


CAMPAIGN   IN   THE    WEST.  139 

force,  Colonel  O'Kane,  with  a  small  body  of  State 
soldiers,  fell  one  morning  at  daybreak,  and  almost 
annihilated  them,  as  they  were  asleep  at  the  time. 
Over  two  hundred  were  killed,  while  a  mnch  large 
number  were  wounded,  and  over  one   hundrec 
taken  prisoners.     In  this  surprise  the  Missourian 
lost  four  men,  and  twenty  wounded,  and  they  cap 
tured  three  hundred  and  sixty  muskets. 

But  the  first  important  battle  was  fought  at  Car 
thage,  on  the  5th  of  July,  1861,  between  the  Fed 
eral  army,  commanded  by  General  Sigel,  and  the 
Missouri  State  troops,  commanded  by  Governor 
Jackson.  After  one  of  the  most  spirited  engage 
ments  of  the  whole  war,  General  Sigel  was  badly 
whipped,  and  that,  too,  by  a  vastly  inferior  and 
badly  equipped  force.  The  next  day  after  this  bat 
tle,  General  Stirling  Price  arrived  at  Carthage,  in 
company  with  Brigadier-General  Ben.  McCulloch, 
a  famous  fighting  officer  of  the  Confederate  army, 
and  also  Major-General  Pierce,  of  the  Arkansas 
State  militia.  These  accessions  added  about  2000 
men  to  the  defensive  army  of  Missouri. 

The  abolition  army  under  the  several  commands 
of  Generals  Lyon,  Sigel,  Sweeny,  and  Sturgis,  had 
united  at  Springfield.  The  Missouri  army  started 
at  once  on  the  march  towards  Springfield,  while, 
at  the  same  time,  the  abolition  commanders 
quickly  marched  out  their  army  to  meet  it.  The 
Missouri  force  was  a  sorry  sight  for  an  army,  in  all 
but  desperate  fighting  pluck.  A  subordinate  offi 
cer  drew  the  following  humorous  picture  of  its 
condition  :  "  We  had  not  a  blanket,  not  a  tent, 


140  CAMPAIGN    IN   THE    WEST. 

nor  any  clothes,  except  the  few  we  had  on  otuf 
backs,  and  four-fifths  of  us  were  barefooted.  Billy 
Barn ;w's  dress  at  a  circus  would  be  decent,  com- 
p  -red  with  that  of  almost  any  one,  from  the  major- 
general  clown  to  the  humblest  private.  But  we 
had  this  preparation  for  battle,  every  one  believed 
that  he  was  fighting  in  a  cause  the  most  sacred 
that  ever  aroused  the  heroism  of  man." 

This  army  consisted  of  five  thousand  three  hun 
dred  infantry,  with  fifteen  pieces  of  artillery,  and 
six  thousand  horsemen  armed  with  nothing  better 
than  flint-lock  muskets  and  old  shot  guns,  and 
very  few  cartridge-boxes.  One  long  day's  march 
brought  this  motley  army  to  Wilson's  Creek,  01 
as  it  is  also  called,  Oak  Hill,  eight  miles  from 
Springfield.  Here  they  rested  for  the  nig*ht ;  and 
the  soldiers,  notwithstanding  their  tedious  march, 
"danced  around  their  camp  fires  until  a  late  hour." 
In  this  army  there  were  about  one  thousand  Cher 
okee  and  Choctaw  Indians,  some  dressed  in  the 
regular  Confederate  uniform,  and  others  in  all 
kinds  of  fantastic  uncivilized  gear. 

The  Federal  army,  under  Generals  Lyon  and 
Sigel,  consisted  at  this  time  of  about  nine  thou 
sand  men,  well  armed,  among  which  was  a  thou 
sand  United  States  regulars,  of  the  First  and  Sec 
ond  U.  S.  infantry,  the  Fourth  U.  S.  cavalry,  and 
Second  U.  S.  dragoons.  General  Lyon,  learning 
that  the  Missouri  army  was  encamped  at  Wilson's 
Creek,  struck  his  tents  at  about  four  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  and  marched  slowly  and  silently  along 
until  he  arrived  within  an  hour's  march  of  the 


CAMPAIGN    IN    THE    WEST.  141 

enemy's  camp,  when  he  halted  in  a  little  valley, 
where  his  army  slept  upon  their  arms.  The  next 
morning,  at  daybreak  they  were  again  ready  to 
march  to  the  attack  of  the  Missourians. 

General  Lyon  now  harangued  his  soldiers,  telling 
them  that  they  were  within  a  short  hour's  march 
of  the  enemy,  and  that  he  should  that  morning 
breakfast  them  in  their  camp.  At  sunrise  he 
reached  the  position  he  wanted,  and  immediately 
opened  the  battle  by  attacking  the  Missourians  at 
two  points,  on  their  right  and  left.  He  led  the 
attack  upon  the  right  himself,  while  General  Sigel 
was  to  attack  the  left  and  rear.  After  passing 
*ound  a  hill  to  get  in  position,  General  Sigel  mis 
took  a  portion  of  General  Lyon's  force  for  the 
enemy  and  furiously  began  to  pour  shot  and  shell 
upon  it,  and  kept  up  the  mistake  until  General 
Lyon  sent  round  a  messenger  to  inform  him  of  his 
mistake. 

Though  surprised,  the  Missourians  under  the 
command  of  General  Ben.  McCulloch,  were  in 
stantly  made  ready  for  the  battle,  and  entered 
into  the  fight,  not  only  with  courage,  but  with 
the  reckless  desperation  of  men  who  preferred 
death  to  defeat.  In  numbers  and  arms  General 
Lyon  had  a  very  great  advantage.  He  also  had 
the  still  greater  advantage  of  having  effected  tho 
surprise  of  Ben.  McCulloch's  army.  But  this  lat 
ter  benefit  did  not  seem  very  great,  as  the  Mis 
sourians  were  instantly  at  work  resisting  the  foe. 
It  svas  a  -short  but  terrible  conflict,  in  which  Gen« 


142  CAMPAIGN   IN    THE    WEST 

era]  Lyon  was  killed,  and  his  army  beaten  and 
put  to  a  complete  rout. 

The  retreat  was  conducted  with  a  good  deal 
of  skill  and  energy  by  General  Sigel.  By  forced 
marches  he  reached  Holla,  a  distance  of  about  175 
miles  in  a  little  over  three  days,  allowing  his  sol 
diers  only  three  hours  and  a  half  sleep  every  twen 
ty-four  hours. 

This  entire  defeat  and  rout  of  the  abolition  army 
in  Missouri  was  regarded  as  almost  the  finishing 
blow  to  that  cause  in  the  West.  And  so  it  might 
have  been,  perhaps,  but  for  a  disagreement  be 
tween  General  McCulloch  and  General  Price,  in 
consequence  of  which  General  McCulloch  took  all 
the  Confederate  force  under  his  command  and  re 
turned  to  Arkansas,  leaving  General  Price  alone, 
with  only  the  State  troops  of  Missouri  for  the  de 
fence  of  that  State.  There  is  little  doubt  that, 
had  General  McCulloch  remained  and  acted  in 
conjunction  with  General  Price  and  the  State 
troops,  Missouri  would,  in  a  short  time,  have  been 
wholly  cleared  of  the  presence  of  the  abolition 
ists.  Some  time  afterwards  General  McCulloch 
expressed  his  profound  regret  at  what  he  called 
his  "great  mistake  in  withdrawing  from  Missouri.'"' 

Losing  the  support  of  the  Confederate  forces, 
General  Price  marched  his  State  army  of  about 
five  thousand  men  for  the  Missouri  River,  receiv 
ing  reinforcements  of  citizens  all  along  the  line  of 
his  march. 

Learning  that  the  infamous  bushwhackers  and 
ruffians,  Jennison,  Jim  Lane,  and  Montgomery, 


CAMPAIGN    IN   THE   WEST.  143 

were  near  Fort  Scott,  with  a  force  of  marauders^ 
plundering,  burning,  and  murdering  wherever  they 
went,  he  marched  directly  for  that  place.  Fifteen 
miles  from  Fort  Scott,  he  met  with  Jim  Lane,  and 
put  him  to  an  utter  rout  and  flight,  and  then  con* 
tinued  his  march  on  to  Lexington,  where  Colone7 
Mulligan,  with  a  Federal  force,  was  strongly  in 
trenched.  At  that  place  a  desperate  battle  trans 
pired,  which,  after  fifty-two  hours  of  uninterrupted 
fighting,  resulted  in  the  entire  defeat  and  surren 
der  of  the  abolition  force  under  Colonel  Mulligan. 

In  General  Price's  official  report  of  the  battle, 
he  said  :  "  This  victory  has  demonstrated  the  fit 
ness  of  our  citizen  soldiery  for  the  tedious  opera 
tions  of  a  siege,  as  well  as  for  a  dashing  charge. 
They  lay  for  fifty-two  hours  in  the  open  air,  with 
out  tents  or  covering,  regardless  of  the  sun  and 
rain,  and  in  the  very  presence  of  a  watchful  and 
desperate  foe,  manfully  repelling  every  assault  and 
patiently  awaiting  my  orders  to  storm  the  fortifi 
cations.  No  general  ever  commanded  a  braver  or 
better  army.  It  is  composed  of  the  best  blood  and 
bravest  men  of  Missouri." 

Just  before  this  battle,  General  Fremont  had 
been  appointed  by  Mr.  Lincoln  to  the  command 
of  the  Department  of  the  West.  He  inaugurated 
his  advent  in  Missouri  with  the  most  ridiculous 
display  of  pomp,  parade,  and  insolence.  He  be 
haved  himself  far  more  like  an  eastern  bashaw 
than  like  a  general  in  a  republican  country.  He 
put  forth  a  swelling  order  proclaiming  "  the  aboli 
tion  of  slavery"  and  the  confiscation  of  the  property 


144  CAMPAIGN    IN    THE    WEST. 

of  all  Missourians  who  adhered  to  the  government 
of  their  State.  So  wildly  did  he  behave  himself 
that  President  Lincoln  felt  himself  compelled  to 
check  his  imprudence  ;  and  finally,  he  was,  aftei  a 
Bhort  reign,  removed  from  his  command,  for  mili 
tary  incapacity,  and  for  permitting  immense  swin 
dling  of  the  Government  by  his  subordinates. 

While  the  battle  of  Lexington  was  going  on,  an 
army  of  jayhawkers,  under  Jim  Lane  and  Mont 
gomery,  fell  upon  five  hundred  Missourians  about 
thirty  miles  above  Lexington,  who,  in  an  almost 
hand-to-hand  fight,  completely  cut  the  jayhawkers 
to  pieces,  and  thus  made  two  victories  for  the  Mis 
sourians  on  that  day. 

But  these  brilliant  victories  described  in  this  chap 
ter,  were  nearly  the  end  of  the  triumph  of  the  Mis 
sourians  over  the  abolition  foe.  An  army  of  70,000 
men  was  ready  to  march  under  General  Fremont, 
and  as  General  Price  had  no  force  to  meet  such  a 
tremendous  army,  and  being  without  means  of 
transportation  for  even  the  whole  of  the  small  force 
he  commanded,  and  being  almost  out  of  ammuni 
tion,  he  was  obliged  to  disband  a  portion  of  it,  and 
make  the  best  retreat  he  could.  Fremont  had  his 
immense  army  already  on  the  march,  with  the  de 
sign  of  entirely  surrounding  the  little  force  re 
maining  under  General  Price  ;  but  the  vigilant 
Missouri  commander  defeated  his  project  by  boldly 
Bending  out  small  forces  to  attack  at  two  points 
the  advance  columns  of  General  Fremont's  army. 

In  this  he  was  entirely  successful,  for  he  made 
such  an  impression  upon  the  abolition  force  that 


CAMPAIGN    IN   THE   WEST.  146 

Fremont  halted  and  began  to  ditch.  But  General 
Price  gladly  left  the  abolition  general  ditching, 
and  made  the  test  of  his  retreat  towards  the  Ar 
kansas  line.  His  whole  command,  now  only 
15,000  strong,  crossed  Osage  Eiver,  which  was 
much  swollen  by  recent  rains,  in  two  rude  flat- 
boats  constructed  by  his  men  for  the  occasion. 
Afterwards  it  took  General  Fremont  sixteen  days 
to  get  across  the  same  stream  on  his  pontoon 
bridges. 

General  Price  continued  his  retreat  to  Neosho, 
a  little  town  on  the  southern  borders  of  Missouri, 
where  Governor  Jackson  had  assembled  the  State 
Legislature.  At  this  place,  after  the  people  of 
Missouri  had  been  plundered  and  ravaged  for 
months  by  the  marauding  abolition  army,  the 
Legislature  passed  an  act  of  secession,  and  ap 
pointed  delegates  to  the  Provisional  Congress  of 
the  Southern  Confederacy.  The  State  was  literally 
driven  out  of  the  Union.  We  may  say  fought  out 
of  it.  It  was  not  the  intention  of  the  Legislature 
to  pass  an  act  of  secession,  until  it  found  the  State 
laws  overthrown  by  the  abolition  army  under  the 
pay  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  Administration. 

The  presence  of  the  Federal  army  in  Missouri, 
against  which  the  State  authorities  struggled  so 
long  and  so  gallantly,  was  as  great  a  crime  on  the 
part  of  Mr.  Lincoln  and  the  Black  Republican 
party  as  the  presence  of  the  same  kind  of  invading 
army  would  be  in  New  York  or  in  Massachusetts 
at  the  present  time.  The  Missourians  were  all  the 
time  fighting  for  the  preservation  of  their  own 


146  CAMPAIGN    IN    THE    WEST. 

laws,  and  the  protection  of  their  own  State.  And 
there  was  hardly  a  respectable  native  citizen  of 
the  State,  whose  heart  was  not  honestly  and  de 
votedly  with  General  Price  in  his  gallant  but  vain 
struggle  to  drive  the  marauding  abolition  foe  from 
its  borders. 

The  State  was  literally  overrun  with  such  ruf 
fians  as  Jim  Lane,  Montgomery,  and  Jennison, 
the  former  friends  and  associates  of  old  John 
Brown  in  all  his  thefts  and  murders  in  Kansas. 
For  many  months  before  the  Legislature  passed 
the  ordinance  of  secession,  the  native  citizens  of 
Missouri  had  been  pillaged  and  imprisoned  in  the 
most  cruel  and  brutal  manner.  The  banks  of  the 
State  were  robbed  of  their  specie.  The  dwellings 
of  the  wealthy  were  entered  by  freebooters  in  Fed 
eral  uniform  and  stripped  of  their  silver  spoons,  jew 
elry,  ladies'  wardrobes,  and  all  other  valuables. 
Their  cattle  were  driven  off,  and  either  killed  to 
feed  the  abolition  army,  or  given  to  the  Germans 
who  assisted  that  army  to  invade  and  plunder  the 
native  people  of  the  State. 

General  Lyon,  who  was  killed  at  the  battle  of 
Wilson's  Creek,  was  a  Connecticut  abolitionist  of 
the  most  bitter  type.  He  had  neither  pity  nor 
mercy  for  any  white  man  who  was  not  an  abolition- 
ist.  He  was  an  excellent  military  officer,  but 
fanatical  and  cruel  in  carrying  out  his  creed. 

But  under  the  military  rule  of  General  Lyon, 
the  people  of  Missouri  were  not  so  badly  off  as 
they  were  under  the  brief  but  disgraceful  reign  of 
General  Fremont.  Fremont  carried  things  with 


CAMPAIGN    IN   THE    WEST.  147 

such  a  high  hand  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  obliged  in 
a  short  time  to  remove  him.  As  I  have  before  told 
you,  he  began  by  assuming  the  airs  of  some  east 
ern  bashaw  or  monarch.  Some  of  his  German 
officers  imprudently  let  slip  the  idea  that  Fremont 
cared  nothing  for  Lincoln  or  the  United  States, 
but  that  he  was  going  to  establish  an  immense 
German  empire  in  the  West.  Perhaps  this  had 
something  to  do  with  Lincoln's  very  sudden  re 
moval  of  Fremont. 

A  gentleman  describing  a  journey  in  Missouri  at 
that  time,  writes  as  follows  :  "  God  forbid  I  should 
exaggerate  ;  and  were  I  willing  to  do  so,  things 
are  so  bad  that  they  could  not  be  painted  worse, 
with  all  the  coloring  in  the  world.  My  whole  jour 
ney  to  this  place  has  presented  harrowing  sights — 
widows,  wives,  children,  and  the  aged,  standing 
houseless  by  the  wayside,  their  homes  in  flames 
and  ruins.  You  will  ask  if  they  are  Missourians 
who  have  done  these  things  ;  you  know  the  char 
acter  of  native  Missourians  too  well,  to  think  they 
are.  These  destroyers  are  the  valiant  German  and 
Dutch  heroes  of  Sigel ;  runaways  from  battle-fields, 
who  show  their  paltry  spite  to  helpless  little  ones, 
whose  fathers  and  brothers  are  fighting  for  free 
dom  of  thought,  word,  and  action.  Heaven  forbid 
that  the  name  of  Missourians  should  be  placed  on 
such  a  record!  Yet  there  are  ambitious  leaders 
among  them,  who  care  not  who  perish  so  they  may 
rule.  A  German  republic  or  empire  is  their  dream, 
and  already  their  general  (Fremont)  is  assuming 
all  the  trumpery  and  airs  of  foreign  courts  — 


148  CAMPAIGN   IN    THE    WEST. 

already  he  travels  in  state,  lias  a  German  body 
guard,  tricked  out  in  what  appears  to  be  the  cast- 
off  finery  of  a  third-class  theatrical  wardrobe. 
When  he  travels  on  the  river,  an  entire  steamboat 
is  not  more  than  sufficient  to  accommodate  the 
majesty  of  Fremont ;  guards  pace  before  his  door 
night  and  day  ;  servants  in  gay  livery  hand  round 
Catawba  on  silver  waiters  ;  grooms  and  orderlies 
flit  about  like  poor  imitations  of  the  same  class  of 
servants  in  German  cities,  while  the  ruling  lan 
guage  of  the  court  is  very  low  Dutch,  redolent  of 
lager  bier  and  schnapps." 

The  suspicion  that  Fremont  was  secretly  aiming 
at  a  German  empire  of  his  own  in  the  Great  West, 
gained  some  little  confirmation  from  his  manner 
of  treating  Mr.  Lincoln's  order  for  his  removal. 
At  first,  for  several  days,  he  refused  to  be  removed, 
but  gave  orders  to  all  his  subordinates  to  allow  no 
one  to  reach  his  person.  This  was  to  prevent 
President  Lincoln's  order  of  his  removal  from  be 
ing  served  on  him.  But  after  being  satisfied  that 
it  would  be  a  vain  attempt  for  him  to  hold  out 
longer,  he  yielded.  And  after  his  removal,  a  con 
siderable  portion  of  his  German  soldiers  mutinied, 
and  refused,  for  some  time,  to  do  further  service  in 
the  war. 

It  will  probably  never  be  known  to  what  extent 
this  scheme  for  a  German  empire  under  Fremont 
had  progressed,  at  the  time  of  Fremont's  timely 
removal  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that 
those  who  were  capable  of  sustaining  the  horrible 
despotism  of  the  abolition  reign  in  Missouri  were 
capable  of  enjoying  the  absolute  rule  of  monarchy. 


CHAPTER  XVIH. 

CAMPAIGN    IN    WESTERN    VIKGINIA,    AND    THE    BATTLE    Gf 
LEESBUBG. 

JUBT  before  the  great  battle  of  Manassas,  General 
McClellan  had  won  a  brilliant  little  victory  in  a 
battle  at  Rich  Mountain,  in  Western  Virginia,  and 
indeed  General  McClellan's  whole  campaign  had 
been  so  generally  successful  that  the  Northern 
people  looked  upon  him  as  altogether  the  best 
general  on  the  Northern  side.  He  was  called  the 
"  Young  Napoleon,"  and  there  was  no  end  to  the 
praise  bestowed  upon  him,  or  to  the  confidence  re 
posed  in  his  generalship.  But  before  he  was  with 
drawn  from  Western  Virginia  to  take  command  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  the  campaign  in  the 
former  region  was  not,  for  some  time,  of  a  very 
spirited  character  on  either  side.  After  the  Con 
federate  General  Garnett  was  so  badly  defeated  by 
McClellan  at  Rich  Mountain,  General  Wise,  who 
had  a  small  force  in  the  Kanawha  Valley,  wag 
obliged  to  fall  back  a  hundred  miles,  to  Lewis- 
burg,  a  retreat  which  he  effected  rapidly,  destroy 
ing  all  the  bridges  behind  him  to  prevent  the  pur* 
suit  of  the  enemy. 

General  Floyd  was  sent  to  check  the  march  of 
Colonel  Tyler,  who  had  invaded  Western  Virginia 
11 


150        CAMPAIGN    IN    WEST  URN    VIRGINIA,   ETC. 

from  Ohio.  This  Colonel  Tyler  was  familiar  with 
that  whole  region,  having  often,  in  former  days, 
been  over  it  buying  furs.  The  confident  abolition 
ist  said  he  would  now  "drive  a  big  business  in 
rebel  skins."  Colonel  Tyler  himself  boasted  that 
he  intended  to  capture  Floyd's  whole  command, 
and  marched  rapidly  to  meet  him.  An  engage 
ment  took  place  near  Cross  Lanes,  at  which  Gen 
eral  Floyd  whipped  the  boasting  abolition  colonel 
very  badly,  capturing  all  his  baggage,  including 
his  private  wardrobe.  The  Colonel  himself,  it  is 
said,  was  seen  flying  wildly  a  good  ways  a-head  of 
his  frightened  and  retreating  command. 

But  General  Floyd's  good  luck  did  not  last  long. 
His  force  consisted  of  less  than  2000  men,  and  he 
was,  a  few  days  after  this  decisive  victory,  over 
taken  by  General  Bosecrans,  with  a  force  of  ten 
regiments  of  infantry  and  several  batteries  of  ar 
tillery.  With  this  formidable  army  General  Floyd 
was  attacked  in  his  intrenchments.  Confident  in 
his  superior  numbers  General  Kosecrans  at  once 
commenced  an  assault.  But  Floyd's  men  bravely 
stood  their  ground  from  three  o'clock  in  the  after 
noon  until  dark.  In  five  tremendous  assaults 
Bosecrans'  army  had  been  completely  resisted. 
But  when  the  night  fell  and  put  a  stop  to  active 
fighting,  General  Floyd  withdrew  his  army  across 
the  Gauley  Biver,  by  means  of  a  hastily  built  bridge 
of  logs,  and  made  a  successful  retreat  to  Big  Sew- 
ell  Mountain,  and  thenoe  to  Meadow  Bluff ;  secur 
ing  his  little  army  from  all  danger  of  being  gob 
bled  up  by  Bosecran'a  big  force.  Thus  Genera] 


CAMPAIGN    IN    WESTERN   VIRGINIA,   ETC.        151 

Rosecrans,  besides  losing  many  of  his  men  and 
several  officers,  was  cheated  of  a  victory  of  which 
he  felt  he  was  sure. 

After  the  defeat  and  death  of  General  Garnett 
at  Rich  Mountain,  General  Robert  E.  Lee  was  ap 
pointed  to  succeed  him.  General  Lee  made  prepa 
rations  as  speedily  as  possible  to  go  to  the  relief  of 
General  Floyd  and  Gen.  Wise,  whose  small  com 
mands  were  entirely  checked  by  the  comparatively 
large  army  of  General  Rosecrans.  General  Lee's 
army,  in  all,  numbered  about  fifteen  thousand 
men.  With  this  force  he  marched  directly  to  the 
aid  of  the  Confederate  forces  in  Western  Virginia, 
and  also  to  relieve  the  people  of  that  region  of  the 
outrages  inflicted  upon  them  by  the  presence  of 
the  abolition  army. 

When  he  reached  the  points  held  by  Generals 
Floyd  and  Wise,  he  had  in  his  command  an  army 
of  nearly  20,000  men.  He  halted  in  sight  of  Gen 
eral  Rosecrans,  and  for  ten  or  twelve  days  offered 
that  general  battle.  But  at  last  Rosecrans  dis 
appeared  one  night,  and  retreated  over  thirty 
miles  to  the  Gauley  River.  For  some  reason  Gen 
eral  Lee  made  no  pursuit.  It  was  already  fall, 
and  the  deepening  mud  and  the  falling  leaves  in 
that  mountain  region  advertised  the  approach  of 
winter,  and  also  the  close  of  the  campaign,  for  that 
season,  in  Western  Virginia. 

General  Lee  was  withdrawn  from  this  field  of 
operations,  and  sent  to  superintend  the  coast  de 
fences  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia.  There 
were,  during  the  fall  many  brilliant  skirmishes  be* 


152        CAMPAIGN    IN    WESTERN    VIRGINIA,   ETC. 

tween  detachments  of  the  Federal  and  Confederate 
armies,  but  no  great  battle.  But  through  all  that 
section,  all  who  did  not  profess  sympathy  with  the 
abolition  cause,  whether  men,  women  or  children, 
were  treated  with  the  vilest  indignity  and  outrage 
wherever  they  were  not  protected  by  the  presence 
of  Southern  soldiers. 

For  instance,  there  was  a  beautiful  little  village 
on  the  Virginia  bank  of  the  Ohio  River,  called 
Guyandotte.  This  place  was  suspected  of  having 
given  a  welcome  to  some  Confederate  cavalry  who 
had  been  there  and  left ;  and  when  the  inhabitants 
learned  that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  Lincoln 
army  to  destroy  the  town,  they  came  out,  both 
men  and  women,  waving  white  flags  in  token  of 
entire  submission  ;  but  it  was  of  no  avail.  The 
town  was  murderously  assaulted  and  fired,  and 
not  only  old  men,  but  women  and  children  might 
be  seen  jumping  from  the  windows  in  wild  attempts 
to  escape  from  the  devouring  flames.  One  woman, 
with  a  pair  of  infant  twins  in  her  arms,  rushed 
madly  out  of  her  burning  house  into  the  street, 
where  she  was  instantly  killed  by  a  stray  abolition 
bullet,  which  penetrated  her  brain. 

While  events  like  these  were  going  on  in  West 
ern  Virginia,  McClellan  was  still  busy  in  recruit 
ing,  repairing,  and  drilling  the  Army  of  the  Poto 
mac.  And  Generals  Johnston  and  Beauregard 
were  keeping  watch  of  him  from  Manassas  and  its 
vicinity.  In  vain,  during  those  long  weary  months, 
they  tried  to  provoke  another  battle.  Sometimes 
they  would  approach  in  force  almost  within  cannop 


CAMPAIGN   IN    WESTERN    VIRGINIA,    ETC.       153 

shot  of  Washington.  But  General  McClellan  could 
not  as  yet  be  provoked  to  risk  another  engage 
ment.  The  South  laughed  at  him,  and  the  North 
scolded.  But  nothing  could  induce  him  to  allow 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  to  move  again  until  he 
felt  prepared  for  a  sure  victory. 

So  the  summer  and  the  fall  wore  away  with  no 
startling  event  to  relieve  the  long  and  tedious  mili 
tary  stagnation  of  both  the  Federal  and  the  Con 
federate  Army  of  the  Potomac,  except  the  battle 
of  Leesburg,  which  occurred  near  the  end  of  Octo 
ber,  1861.  Leesburg  was  an  important  position, 
as  a  key  to  the  rich  valley  of  the  Shenandoah.  At 
this  place  was  a  force  of  four  regiments  of  Confed 
erates  under  Brigadier-General  Evans.  General 
Stone  had  received  orders  from  Washington  to 
cross  the  Potomac  River  at  Harrison's  Island  into 
Virginia.  At  the  same  time,  Colonel  Baker,  a 
member  of  the  United  States  Congress  from  Ore 
gon,  was  despatched  to  take  a  command  under 
Stone.  Colonel  Baker  was  a  violent  abolitionist, 
but  he  won  some  distinction  in  the  Mexican  war, 
and  was  said  to  be  a  brave  and  gallant  officer.  He 
was  put  in  command  of  all  the  Federal  forces  on 
the  Virginia  side  of  the  Potomac,  and  ordered  by 
General  Stone  to  dislodge  the  Confederates  from 
Leesburg. 

Colonel  Baker's  force  was  four  or  five  times  as 
large  as  the  little  Confederate  brigade  at  that  place, 
and  the  people  at  Washington  waited  in  confidence 
to  hear  that  it  was  entirely  gobbled  up  by  Colonel 
Baker  But  alas,  it  turned  out  to  be  another  Bull 


154       CAMPAIGN    IN    WESTERN    VIRGINIA,   ETC. 

Run  affair  on  a  smaller  scale.  The  Confederates 
fought  against  such  vast  odds  with  a  courage  that 
amounted  to  desperation.  Their  whole  number  in 
the  engagement  was  only  1800,  but  they  fired  and 
yelled  and  yelled  and  fired  with  such  rapidity  and 
with  such  deafening  noise  as  to  make  it  appear  to 
the  invaders  that  their  number  was  ten  times 
greater  than  it  really  was. 

Colonel  Baker's  whole  army  at  last  gave  way, 
and  commenced  a  stampede  down  a  hill  that  ended 
with  the  river's  bank.  In  vain  their  gallant  leader 
tried  to  rally  his  repulsed  and  frightened  troops. 
They  went  pitching,  tumbling,  rolling  down  the 
steep  banks.  Throwing  away  their  guns  and  knap 
sacks,  they  madly  plunged  into  the  river  which  they 
had  just  crossed  flushed  with  the  faith  of  victory. 
A  large  flat-boat  loaded  with  the  wounded  and 
dying  was  swamped,  and  went  to  the  bottom  with 
its  whole  freight  of  life.  Through  all  the  disas 
trous  fight,  Colonel  Baker  displayed  the  most 
daring  heroism  and  courage,  and  he  was  shot  dead 
at  the  head  of  his  troops  while  vainly  trying  to 
rally  them  to  battle.  The  victory  of  the  Confed 
erates  was  complete  ;  while  the  loss  of  the  Federal 
army  was,  in  killed  and  wounded,  1,300 ;  710 
taken  prisoners,  among  whom  were  twenty-two 
commissioned  officers,  besides  losing  1500  stand 
of  arms  and  three  pieces  of  cannon. 

This  affair  at  Leesburg  produced  another  titter 
disappointment  and  mortification  at  Washington, 
besides  the  deepest  lament  for  the  death  of  the 
brave  Colonel  Baker.  So  mad  was  the  chagrin 


CAMPAIGN    IN    WKSTKBN    VIRGINIA,    ETC.        155 

that  it  could  only  be  appeased  by  some  victim,  and 
General  Stone  was  arrested  and  sent  to  prison 
without  trial,  specification,  or  charge ;  and  aftei 
suffering  many  weary  months  of  incarceration,  he 
was  let  out,  without  even  being  informed  why  he 
was  put  in.  He  was  ordered,  from  Washington,  to 
advance  across  the  Potomac  into  Virginia.  That 
order  had  proved  a  great  mistake  and  a  great  ca 
lamity,  and  it  is  supposed  that  poor  General  Stone 
was  sacrificed  in  order  to  fix  blame  somewhere,  so 
that  the  public  attention  would  be  drawn  from  the 
real  authors  of  the  mishap  at  Washington. 

An  incident  occurred  at  the  battle  of  Leesburg, 
which  serves  to  illustrate  the  horrible  character  of 
the  war,  and  how  great  ought  to  be  the  punish 
ment  of  those  who  brought  it  upon  our  country. 
In  the  spring  of  1861,  two  brothers  in  Kentucky 
who  differed  in  politics  parted,  one  to  join  the 
Southern,  the  other  the  Northern  army.  They 
shook  hands,  expecting  never  to  meet  again.  After 
the  battle  was  over,  Howard,  who  had  joined  the 
Southern  army,  was  looking  for  the  bodies  of 
friends  who  had  fallen,  when  he  stumbled  over  one 
showing  signs  of  life.  "  Halloa,"  said  the  object, 
in  a  husky  voice,  "  Who  are  you  ?"  "  I  am  a 
Southerner,"  said  Howard,  "you  are  one  of  the 
enemy.  The  field  is  ours."  "Well,  yes,  I  have 
some  faint  recollection  of  a  battle,  but  all  I  remem 
ber  now  is  much  smoke,  a  great  noise,  and  some 
one  knocking  me  down  with  a  musket,  and  then  1 
fell  asleep."  Howard  looked  again,  and  lo  !  it  was 
his  brother  Alfred,  and  he  had  himself  knocked 
him  down  in  the  confusion  of  the  battle, 


CHAPTEE    XIX. 

CAMPAIGN   IN   KENTUCKY. 

I  HAVE  to  tell  you  many  sad  and  painful  things 
of  the  war  in  Kentucky.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
war,  the  Legislature  of  that  State  passed  a  resolu 
tion  against  secession,  and  also  against  abolition 
ism.  It  determined  that  it  would  remain  neutral 
in  the  bloody  conflict,  that  is,  that  it  would  not 
take  sides  with  either  party.  While  it  justly  con 
demned  abolitionism  and  all  its  bloody  and  inhu 
man  plans,  it  would  not  withdraw  from  the  Union, 
nor  take  any  part  with  secession.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  the  most  respectable  portion  of  the 
people  of  Kentucky  strongly  sympathized  with  the 
South,  but  there  was  a  numerous  though  less 
prominent  class  of  people  in  the  State  who  sym 
pathized  with  the  Lincoln  party. 

But  it  was  agreed  that  the  State  should  remain 
entirely  neutral  during  the  war.  It  was  not  in 
the  power  of  the  State  to  prevent  individuals  from 
leaving  its  borders  and  going,  as  their  inclinations 
led,  either  North  or  South.  No  doubt  many  did 
so  ;  but  still  the  official  attitude  of  the  State  re 
mained  for  some  time  faithful  to  its  resolution  of 


CAMPAIGN  IN  KENTUCKY.          167 

neutrality.  This  neutrality  the  Lincoln  party  pro 
fessed  to  be  satisfied  with,  and  promised  to  respect 
it,  but  truth  compels  me  to  tell  you  that  they  broke 
the  bargain  the  very  first  instant  they  had  power 
to  do  so. 

The  friends  of  Mr.  Lincoln  were  cunning,  watch 
ful,  and  vigilant.  Not  only  watchful  and  vigilant, 
as  unscrupulous  men  generally  are  in  a  bad  cause, 
but  they  were  full  of  hatred  toward  those  who  did 
not  sympathize  with  the  Lincoln  party.  They 
connived  with  the  authorities  in  Washington  to  the 
illegal  arrest  of  some  of  the  most  respectable  and 
peaceable  citizens  of  the  State,  whose  influence 
they  dreaded,  and  whose  integrity  they  knew  they 
could  not  corrupt. 

Among  these,  ex-Governor  Morehead  was  seized 
by  the  Lincoln  authorities,  and  dragged  out  of  his 
own  house  at  midnight,  in  the  presence  of  hia 
frightened  family,  and  spirited  away  out  of  the 
State,  in  violation  of  the  most  sacred  laws  of  the 
land.  For  a  great  many  months  he  was^  kept 
locked  up  in  Fort  Lafayette,  denied  any  trial — not 
even  allowed  to  know  why  he  had  been  seized,  and 
refused  the  least  privilege  of  communicating  with 
his  friends.  Governor  Morehead  does  not  know 
to  this  day  why  he  was  thus  seized.  This  cruel 
outrage  on  the  part  of  the  Lincoln  Administration 
produced  a  perfect  storm  of  indignation  among  all 
the  most  respectable  people  of  Kentucky.  The 
truth  probably  was  that  Lincoln  wanted  to  get  out 
of  the  way  all  the  influential  men  in  Kentucky  who 
could  not  be  swerved  from  the  peaceful  resolution 


158  CAMrAIGN    IN    KENTUCKY. 

to  take  no  part  with  either  side  in  the  bloody  con 
flict. 

Soon  after  the  seizure  of  Governor  Morehead  it 
was  discovered  that  the  Administration  had  hatched 
a  conspiracy  to  seize  the  Hon.  John  C.  Breckin- 
ridge,  ex-Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  Hon. 
Humphrey  Marshall,  ex-member  of  Congress,  Hon. 
William  C.  Preston,  ex-United  States  minister  to 
Spain,  Hon.  Thomas  B.  Monroe,  for  more  than 
thirty  years  District  United  States  Judge,  Captain 
John  Morgan,  and  a  good  many  more  of  the  first 
citizens  of  Kentucky.  Several  of  these  gentle 
men  were  apprized  of  the  conspiracy  against 
their  liberty,  if  not  their  lives,  in  time  to  get 
off,  and  were  obliged  to  throw  themselves  with 
in  the  lines  of  the  Confederacy  for  protection 
and  safety.  Messrs.  Breckinridge,  Marshall  and 
Morgan  no  longer  hesitated  to  take  up  arms 
against  a  power  which  had  driven  them  from  their 
peaceful  homes. 

Al^put  the  time  the  above  crime  of  driving  peace 
able  citizens  from  their  cherished  homes  was  com 
mitted,  it  was  discovered  the  Lincoln  Administra 
tion  was  about  to  invade  and  seize  Kentucky  on  a 
large  military  scale.  There  was  a  man  by  the 
name  of  Rousseau  at  Louisville,  in  that  State,  who 
was  ready  to  sell  himself  to  the  cause  of  abolition 
ism,  and  he  was  commissioned  a  general,  with 
powers  to  get  up  a  brigade  to  fight  for  Mr.  Lin- 
coin.  At  the  same  time  it  was  discovered  that  tho 
abolition  forces  were  about  to  seize  upon  Paducah 
and  Columbus,  important  points  in  Kentucky,  for 


CAMPAIGN   IN   KENTUCKY.  159 

tlie  purpose  of  permanently  holding  the  State. 
The  Confederate  general,  Bishop  Polk,  discovered 
this  plan,  and  instantly  moved  and  occupied  those 
places  himself. 

All  idea  of  the  neutrality  of  Kentucky  was  now 
at  an  end.  The  State  became  the  scene  of  the 
wildest  anarchy  and  violence.  Wherever  the  Lin 
coln  force  prevailed  there  was  no  security  for  the 
property  or  the  life  of  a  man  who  was  known  to  be 
opposed  to  the  war.  Governor  Magomn,  who  was 
sincerely  desirous  of  preserving  the  neutrality  and 
peace  of  his  State,  demanded  that  the  Confederate 
troops  under  General  Polk  at  Columbus  should  be 
withdrawn.  General  Polk  replied  that  he  would 
promptly  comply  with  this  request,  provided  the 
abolition  army  should  be  withdrawn  at  the  same 
time,  and  that  guarantees  should  be  given  that  it 
would  make  no  more  attempts  to  occupy  Kentucky. 
But  this  proposition,  which  was  agreeable  to  Gov 
ernor  Magoffin's  sense  of  justice,  was  literally 
hooted  at  by  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his  party.  The 
truth  is  that  the  Lincolnites  wanted  Kentucky  as 
a  base  of  supplies  and  operation  against  the  South 
ern  States. 

On  the  14th  of  September,  1861,  the  Confederate 
General  Zollicoffer  wrote  to  Governor  Magomn  as 
follows  :  "  The  safety  of  Tennessee  requiring,  I 
occupy  the  mountain  passes  at  Cumberland,  and 
the  three  long  mountains  in  Kentucky.  For  weeks 
I  have  known  that  the  Federal  commander  at  Hos- 
kins'  Cross  Eoads  was  threatening  the  invasion  of 
East  Tennessee,  and  ruthlessly  urging  our  people 


160  CAMPAIGN   IN   KENTUCKY. 

to  destroy  our  railroad  and  bridges.  I  postponed 
this  precautionary  movement  until  the  despotic 
government  at  Washington,  refusing  to  recognize 
the  neutrality  of  Kentucky,  has  established  for 
midable  camps  in  the  centre  and  other  parts  of  the 
State,  with  the  view  first  to  subjugate  your  gallant 
State,  and  then  ourselves.  *  *  *  If  the  Fed 
erals  will  now  withdraw  from  their  menacing  posi 
tion,  the  force  under  my  command  shall  be  imme 
diately  withdrawn." 

Under  the  influence  of  "William  G.  Brownlow,  a 
vulgar  and  desperate  man,  known  as  "Parson 
Brownlow,"  there  were  Lincoln  clubs  formed  in 
East  Tennessee,  of  a  number  of  unprincipled  and 
desperate  characters  like  himself,  who  formed  a 
conspiracy  to  burn  all  the  bridges  in  their  part  of 
the  State,  especially  on  the  line  of  the  railroad. 
This  was  evidently  a  part  of  a  general  plan  formed 
by  the  authorities  at  Washington,  of  making  a 
strong  invasion  of  the  South  through  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee. 

General  Polk  still  held  his  headquarters  at  Co 
lumbus,  Kentucky,  when  an  army  commanded  by 
General  Grant,  in  numbers  nearly  three  times  as 
large  as  Folk's  force,  marched  to  attack  him  from 
Cairo.  General  Grant's  army  embraced  a  large 
land  force,  and  gun-boats  and  transports  to  act 
in  conjunction  with  it.  It  was  said  that  General 
Grant  had  men  enough  to  "  surround  the  rebel 
army  in  Kentucky."  It  is  affirmed  that  General 
Grant  was  never  known  to  risk  a  battle,  except 


CAMPAIGN    IN    KENTUCKY.  16i 

when  he  led  three  or  four  times  as  many  men  as 
the  enemy. 

The  battle  between  his  and  Folk's  forces  took 
place  at  Belmont,  a  little  village  near  Columbus, 
on  the  7th  November,  It  was  one  of  the  fiercest 
little  battles  of  the  whole  war.  For  four  or  five 
hours  the  conflict  raged  with  the  most  deadly  fury. 
At  length  the  Confederate  officers,  Colonel  Beltz- 
hoover,  Colonel  Bell,  and  Colonel  Wright,  of  Gen 
eral  Pillow's  division,  sent  word  to  their  com 
mander  that  their  regiments  had  used  up  all  their 
ammunition.  General  Pillow  then  instantly  ordered 
the  use  of  the  bayonet.  Accordingly  a  charge  was 
made  by  the  whole  line,  and  General  Grant's  army 
was  forced  back  some  distance  into  a  wood ;  but 
General  Grant  ordered  up  reserves,  which  in  turn 
forced  the  Confederates  back  again  to  their  old 
position.  Twice  again  were  Grant's  soldiers  forced 
back  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  and  each  time 
the  Confederates  were  obliged  to  yield  again  to  the 
heavy  reserve  force  brought  against  them. 

At  last  General  Pillow  ordered  his  whole  line  to 
fall  back,  which  it  did  in  a  most  broken  and  dis 
organized  manner.  Grant's  victory  seemed  com 
plete.  But  just  at  this  time  reinforcements  arrived 
under  the  command  of  Colonel  Walker,  and  Gen 
eral  Pillow  rallied  his  men  to  the  battle  again. 
The  whole  conflict  was  opened  again,  if  possible, 
with  greater  violence  than  ever,  and  this  time  the 
Confederates  were  entirely  victorious.  Grant's 
whole  line  gave  way,  and  wildly  fled  before  the  hot 
pursuit  and  yells  of  Polk's  army.  Grant's  forces 


162  CAMPAIGN    IN    KENTUCKY. 

took  shelter  in  his  gun-boats  and  transports,  which 
were  cut  loose  from  their  fastenings,  and  steamed 
up  the  river  with  the  utmost  speed.  But  they  got 
off  under  the  most  murderous  fire  of  the  victorious 
Confederates,  which  produced  such  consternation 
on  the  boats  that  many  soldiers  were  pushed  over 
board,  or  were  left  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  the 
enemy. 

In  its  flight,  Grant's  army  left  behind  a  great 
number  of  knapsacks,  blankets,  overcoats,  mess 
chests,  horses,  wagons,  and  a  large  amount  of  am 
munition  and  arms,  all  of  which  fell  into  the  arms 
of  the  victorious  Confederates.  It  is  a  remarkable 
fact,  and  one  by  no  means  creditable  to  General 
Grant,  that,  in  his  report  of  this  battle,  he  dwells 
at  great  length  upon  his  decided  success  in  the  early 
part  of  the  day,  but  leaves  out  all  direct  mention 
of  his  complete  defeat  and  rout  afterwards. 

But  this  brilliant  victory  availed  little  for  the 
Confederate  cause  in  Kentucky.  The  Black  Re 
publicans  were  already  massing  an  immense  army 
to  operate  in  that  State,  and  it  was  only  a  question 
of  time  when  the  State  would  be  entirely  in  the 
grasp  of  thd  abolition  foe. 

A  few  days  after  this  Confederate  victor}7  at  Bel- 
mont,  the  enemies  of  the  Lincoln  war  in  Kentucky 
enacted  a  very  weak  farce  at  a  convention  which 
met  at  Russellville  on  the  18th  of  November. 
Ai'ter  deliberating  two  days,  this  convention  passed 
a  resolution  to  form  a  provisional  government  for 
the  State  of  Kentucky,  with  a  view  to  joining  the 
Confederacy.  The  patriotic  motives  of  the  mem- 


CAMPAIGN   IN   KENTUCKY.  163 

bers  of  this  convention  are  not  to  be  questioned. 
Their  worthy  object  was  to  preserve  the  ancient 
liberty  of  the  people  of  Kentucky,  and  to  resist  the 
negro  party,  which  was  compassing  the  ruin  of  the 
State.  But  it  was  then  too  late.  The  die  was 
already  cast.  The  State  was  hopelessly  involved 
in  the  net  of  abolition  treason.  So  many  of  its- 
own  citizens  were  either  deluded  or  brought  into 
the  revolutionary  plans  of  the  Lincoln  party,  that 
further  resistance,  for  the  time  being,  was  vain. 

No  doubt  many  of  the  citizens  of  Kentucky  as 
sisted  the  very  army  that  was  conquering  their 
State,  and  preparing  for  the  wholesale  overthrow 
of  their  property,  under  the  delusion  that  they 
were  fighting  for  the  Union.  They  have  lived  to 
see  their  error.  They  now  see,  and  the  most  frank 
portion  of  them  freely  confess,  that  the  object  of 
the  war  was  to  free  negroes,  and  to  overthrow  the 
Union  of  sovereign  States  as  it  was  formed  by  our 
fathers.  It  was  a  war  led  by  men  acting  under 
the  inspiration  of  the  political  principles  of  that 
old  Puritan  monarchist  party  of  New  England 
which  tried  so  long  to  revolutionize  this  govern 
ment  in  the  early  days  of  the  Union,  of  which  you 
have  already  had  an  account  in  this  history.  The 
conduct  of  the  Black  Republican  Congress,  and  of 
the  whole  Black  Republican  party,  since  the  close 
of  the  war,  proves  that  the  war  was  neither  for  the 
Union  nor  for  liberty, 

In  November  of  this  year  an  event  occurred 
which  may  justly  be  regarded  as  the  most  humil 
iating  in  the  eyes  of  foreign  nations  that  had  evet 


164  CAMPAIGN   IN   KENTUCKY. 

happened  to  onr  country.  President  Davis  of  the 
Confederate  States  had  appointed  as  ambassadors 
to  represent  them  in  England  and  France  the 
Hon.  James  M.  Mason,  of  Virginia,  and  the  Hon. 
John  Slidell,  of  Louisiana.  Both  of  these  gentle 
men  had  been  United  States  senators.  They  ran 
the  blockade  at  a  Southern  port  in  the  steamer 
Nashville,  and  arrived  safely  at  Havana. 

Here  they  took  passage  on  the  Trent,  a  British 
mail  steamer  for  Europe.  When  only  two  days 
out,  the  United  States  steam  frigate  San  Jacinto, 
Captain  Wilkes,  fired  a  shot  across  her  bows,  and 
having  learned  that  Messrs.  Mason  and  Slidell 
were  on  board,  demanded  that  they  be  given  up. 
The  captain  of  the  Trent  protested  that  Captain 
Wilkes  had  no  right  to  invade  the  flag  of  another 
power  on  sea  any  more  than  he  had  on  land,  but 
this  plain  and  common  sense  view  did  not  satisfy 
a  little  mind  like  that  of  Wilkes.  He  was  deter 
mined  to  seize  Mason  anci  Slidell,  which  he  did, 
and  carried  them  to  Fort  Warren  in  Boston  Harbor. 

When  the  abolitionists  heard  the  news  that  these 
gentlemen  had  been  arrested,  their  joy  knew  no 
bounds.  There  were  no  two  men  at  the  South 
whom  they  hated  more  intensely,  for  they  were 
both  able  and  uncompromising  opponents  of  their 
wicked  scheme  of  putting  negroes  on  an  equality 
with  white  men.  The  abolition  papers  fairly  boiled 
over  in  excess  of  joy.  Congress  endorsed  the  act 
by  a  vote  of  thanks,  and  dinners  and  testimonials 
were  showered  upon  him  as  if  he  was  the  saviour 
of  a  country. 


CAMPAIGN   IN   KENTUCKY.  165 

All  this  shows  how  mad  was  the  popular  mind 
at  this  time.  People  who  had  not  lost  their  senses 
told  these  maniacs  that  Captain  Wilkes  had  vio 
lated  a  plain  law  of  nations,  and  that  Mr.  Lincoln 
would  be  forced  to  deliver  the  prisoners  up.  They 
hooted  at  the  idea.  In  due  time,  however,  John 
Bull  was  heard  from.  There  was  no  parley.  The 
word  came,  "  deliver  those  men  up  or  fight."  It  is 
useless  to  say  that  Lincoln  and  Seward  backed 
down  at  once.  It  was  a  very  disgraceful  spectacle 
after  all  the  boasting.  The  excuse  given  was  that 
we  were  too  busy  fighting  the  South  to  attend  to 
England  at  that  time.  "  One  war  at  a  time,"  said 
Mr.  Lincoln.  He  and  Mr.  Seward  were  both  de 
termined  that  nothing  should  interfere  with  their 
cherished  designs  against  the  Southern  people. 
They  preferred  a  war  with  their  own  brothers 
rather  than  any  other  that  could  be  gotten  up. 

12 


CHAPTEE  XX. 

CLOSING  EVENTS  OF  1861,  AND    THE   BEGINNING  OF  1362. 

I  HAVE  now  given  you  the  principal  military 
events  of  the  war  up  to  the  close  of  the  year  1861. 
Thus  far  the  tide  of  victory  seemed  to  be  in  favor 
of  the  Confederates.  Some  events,  however,  not 
yet  named,  gave  great  advantage  to  the  abolition 
ists,  as  a  basis  of  future  operation. 

A  naval  expedition,  under  the  command  of  Com 
modore  Stringham,  started  from  Fortress  Monroe 
on  the  29th  of  August,  to  attack  the  Confederates 
at  Hatteras  Inlet,  on  the  coast  of  North  Carolina. 
This  expedition  was  entirely  successful,  capturing 
fifteen  cannon,  625  prisoners,  and  the  Confederate 
Commodore  Barron.  On  the  7th  of  November. 
Port  Koyal,  on  the  coast  of  South  Carolina,  was 
captured  by  Captain  Dupont.  These  events  were 
a  great  loss  to  the  South,  as  they  gave  the  North 
excellent  depots  for  naval  and  military  operations. 

There  were  also  some  military  operations  in 
Florida.  A  regiment  of  thieves  and  bruisers  raised 
in  the  city  of  New  York  by  "  Billy  Wilson,"  was 
sent  to  Santa  Bosa  Island,  in  the  harbor  of  Pensa- 
cola,  as  a  beginning  of  abolition  warfare  in  that 
direction.  This  regiment  was  surprised  one  night 
by  a  small  force  of  Confederates,  who  set  the  New 


BEGINNING   OP   1862.  167 

York  bisiisers  flying,  with  their  colonel,  Billy  Wil 
son,  at  their  head.  The  Confederates,  however, 
being  few  in  number,  were  obliged  to  retreat,  aftei 
burning  the  camp  and  all  the  clothing  of  Wilson's 
regiment.  This  retreat  was  made  so  suddenly  that 
the  Confederates  were  obliged  to  leave  several  of 
their  wounded  behind,  who  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Wilson  Zouaves,  and  by  whom  they  were 
every  one  inhumanly  murdered.  When  their  dead 
bodies  were  recovered,  they  were  all  found  to  be 
shot  through  the  head  in  a  similar  manner,  besides 
several  wounds  in  different  parts  of  their  bodies. 

Nor  were  the  Confederates  long  permitted  to 
enjoy  the  fruits  of  their  victories  in  Kentucky. 
General  Zollicoffer's  army  was  short  of  provisions, 
and  he  preferred  to  have  it  remain  so  to  following 
the  example  of  the  abolition  commanders,  who 
seemed  to  enjoy  plundering  the  inhabitants  on 
the  line  of  their  march.  To  such  straits  was  Gen 
eral  Zollicoffer  reduced,  that  his  soldiers  were 
obliged  to  live  on  a  ration  of  beef  and  half  a  ration 
of  corn  per  day.  And  the  corn  had  to  be  eaten 
parched,  as  they  had  no  meal,  and  no  means  of 
making  any.  But  the  soldiers  submitted  to  this 
destitution  without  a  murmur. 

In  this  starving  condition  they  fought  a  des 
perate  battle  at  Mill  Spring  on  the  19th  of  Jan 
uary,  1862.  The  abolitionists  were  led  by  Gen 
eral  Thomas.  At  first  the  Confederates  were  suc 
cessful,  and  supposed  they  had  won  the  day  ;  but 
an  accident  turned  their  victory  into  an  appalling 
and  ruinous  defeat.  General  Zollicoffer's  brigade 


168  BEGINNING    OF    1862. 

pushed  forward  to  the  very  top  of  the  hill,  just 
over  the  brow  of  which  it  came  upon  an  Indiana 
regiment  under  the  command  of  the  abolition 
Colonel  Fry.  At  first  General  Zollicoffer  mistook 
this  regiment  for  a  portion  of  his  own  command. 
Colonel  Fry's  Federal  uniform  was  covered  by  an 
India  rubber  coat,  and  General  Zollicoffer  rode  to 
within  a  few  feet  of  him  before  the  mistake  was 
discovered  by  either  party.  In  a  minute  Colonel 
Fry  raised  his  pistol  and  shot  General  Zollicoffer 
dead. 

The  fall  of  this  brave  officer  produced  a  gloom 
that  seemed  for  the  moment  to  completely  paralyze 
his  soldiers,  who  were  all  of  his  own  State,  Ten 
nessee,  and  were  devotedly  attached  to  him  per 
sonally.  General  Crittenden,  who  was  General 
Zollicoffer's  senior  in  command,  tried  in  vain  to 
regain  what  had  been  lost  since  the  earlier  part  of 
the  battle.  Retreat  was  inevitable.  The  half- 
starved  Confederates  seemed  to  abandon  hope, 
and  flew  in  confusion  before  the  now  victorious 
enemy. 

Just  after  the  events  above  described,  General 
Grant  ascended  the  Tennessee  River,  with  a 
fleet  of  gun-boats  and  a  powerful  force  to  act  in 
conjunction  with  them.  He  took  Fort  Henry  with 
out  much  resistance,  and  at  once  turned  his  atten 
tion  to  Fort  Donelson,  where  there  was  a  consider 
able  Confederate  force  under  Generals  Pillow, 
Buckner,  and  Floyd.  This  was  a  point  which  na 
ture  had  strongly  fortified,  and  General  Pillow  de 
termined  to  hold  it  to  the  last  moment  possible* 


BEGINNING   OF   1862.  .       169 

General  Grant's  combined  infantry  and  naval 
forces  were  a  formidable  host  indeed. 

Grant  commenced  his  attack  early  on  the  morn 
ing  of  the  13th  of  February.  He  told  his  staff 
that  he  would  enter  the  fort  before  noon.  But 
the  resistance  of  the  Confederates  astonished  him. 
When  the  curtain  of  night  fell  upon  the  bloody 
scene,  he  really  seemed  to  have  the  worst  of  it, 
notwithstanding  his  immense  superiority  of  force. 
Of  twenty  gun-boats  which  he  brought  into  the 
engagement,  five  were  sunk  or  crippled.  So  badly 
was  he  punished,  that  he  made  no  further  assault 
in  force  upon  the  fort  until  thiee  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  of  the  next  day.  He  pushed  his  boats 
up  to  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  the  fort,  and 
opened  a  murderous  fire,  which  was  met  with  a 
determination  which  appeared  to  him  miraculous. 
His  repulse  was  complete,  and  at  the  end  of  the 
second  day's  battle  he  was  forced  to  fall  suddenly 
back  out  of  range  of  the  Confederate  guns,  with 
his  fleet  frightfully  shattered  and  torn  to  pieces. 
He  was  badly  beaten,  both  in  his  naval  and  land 
forces.  But  reinforcements  were  pouring  into  him 
every  hour  by  the  thousand. 

.  The  whole  Confederate  force  was  but  13,000  at 
the  commencement  of  the  fighting,  and  this  num 
ber  had  been  greatly  reduced  in  the  terrible  con 
flict.  Grant  had  been  every  day  reinforced,  until 
he  had  about  eighty  thousand  men — enough  to 
surround  the  little  Confederate  army  several  times. 
Further  resistance  was  useless.  During  the  night 
after  the  third  day's  battle,  it  was  resolved  to  sur- 


170         .  BEGINNING    OF    1862. 

render  the  fort.  But  General  Pillow  and  General 
Floyd  declared  that  they  would  not  become  prison 
ers,  turned  over  their  command  to  General  Buck- 
ner,  who  sent  a  flag  of  truce  to  Grant  for  an  armis 
tice  to  negociate  terms  of  surrender.  A  large 
number  of  General  Floyd's  command,  and  a  few 
of  General  Pillow's,  with  all  of  Colonel  Forrest's 
cavalry,  succeeded  in  escaping  through  the  enemy's 
lines  during  the  night  previous,  and  made  their 
retreat  towards  Nashville.  But  the  surrender  of 
Fort  Donelson  rendered  the  surrender  of  Nash 
ville,  Tennessee,  also  necessary,  as  it  left  an  unin 
terrupted  passage  for  General  Grant's  gun-boats 
up  the  Cumberland  Eiver  to  that  city. 

Nashville  was  evacuated  in  the  wildest  confusion. 
Consternation  and  dismay  seized  the  inhabitants. 
Governor  Harris  imprudently  rode  through  the 
city,  shouting  to  the  inhabitants  that  the  Federals 
were  coming.  He  hastily  convened  the  Legisla 
ture,  for  Nashville  is  the  capital  of  Tennessee,  and 
adjourned  to  Memphis,  to  which  place  the  State 
books  and  records  were  conveyed. 

Nashville  was  one  of  the  most  polite  and  culti 
vated  cities  of  the  South.  It  was  the  abode  of 
wealth  and  refinement.  Those  who  had  known  it 
before  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  abolitionists, 
and  who  visited  it  afterwards,  remarked  that  the 
saddest  changes  had  taken  place.  All  its  previous 
beauty  and  refinement  had  vanished.  The  aboli 
tion  soldiers  seemed  to  delight  in  violating  the 
wonted  propriety  and  decency  of  the  place.  Nash 
ville  and  vicinity  was  the  scene  of  many  of  the  ex- 


BEGINNING    OP    1862.  171 

ploits  of  that  dashing  Confederate  officer,  General 
John  H.  Morgan.  At  one  time  he  dashed  into  the 
camp  of  a  Federal  regiment,  and  captured  and  car 
ried  off  a  train  of  wagons. 

At  another  time,  with  about  forty  of  his  men,  h 
entered  the  town  of  Gallatin,  about  twenty-six 
miles  from  Nashville,  while  it  was  in  the  possession 
of  the  Federals,  and  marched  directly  to  the  tele 
graph  office.  He  carelessly  presented  himself  to 
the  operator,  and  asked,  "  What  is  the  news  ?" 
The  operator  replied  that,  "It  was  said  that  the 
rebel  scoundrel,  John  Morgan,  was  in  the  neigh 
borhood,"  at  the  same  time  nourishing  a  pistol, 
saying,  "  I  wish  I  could  see  the  rascal."  Morgan 
replied,  "  Well,  sir,  I  am  Captain  Morgan,  and  you 
are  my  prisoner."  The  valiant  operator  instantly 
wilted,  and  begged  that  his  life  might  be  spared. 
Captain  Morgan  told  him  that  he  should  not 
be  hurt,  on  condition  that  he  would  send  such 
despatches  over  the  wires  as  he  should  dictate. 
To  this  the  operator  was  glad  to  agree. 

Captain  Morgan  then  sent  various  brief  mes 
sages,  and  one  among  them  to  Prentice,  the  editor 
of  the  Louisville  Journal,  offering  to  be  his  escort 
on  a  visit  he  had  said  he  would  make  to  Nashville 
about  that  time.  Captain  Morgan  amused  him 
self  in  this  way  until  the  arrival  of  the  cars  from 
Bowling  Green,  when  he,  with  his  forty  men,  cap 
tured  the  whole  train,  taking  five  abolition  officers 
prisoners. 

Captain  Morgan  often  dressed  himself  in  a  Fed 
eral  uniform,  and  performed  some  most  amusing 


172  BEGINNING   OP   1862. 

and  daring  feats.  Once  dressed  in  this  fashion 
he  was  riding  along  in  the  vicinity  of  Murfrees- 
boro,  Tennessee,  when  he  discovered  six  Federal 
pickets  in  a  house,  enjoying  themselves,  off  of  their 
duty.  Having  on  the  coat  of  a  Federal  colonel, 
he  at  once  rode  up  to  them,  and  roundly  scolded 
the  sergeant  for  being  thus,  with  his  men,  away 
from  their  posts,  and  arrested  the  whole  party. 
Supposing  him  to  be  a  colonel  in  their  army,  they 
readily  submitted,  and  delivered  up  their  arms. 
He  marched  them  into  the  road,  and  taking  an 
opposite  direction  from  the  place  where  the  Fed 
eral  army  lay,  the  sergeant  said,  "  Colonel,  we  are 
going  ihe  wrong  way."  "  No,"  was  the  reply,  "  I 
am  Captain  Morgan,  and  you  are  my  prisoners." 


CHAPTEK  XXI. 

THE  BATTLES  OF  SHILOH  AND  PITTSBUKG  LANDING. 

WHILE  these  events  were  going  on  in  Kentucky 
an!  Tennessee,  the  war  was  progressing  somewhat 
farther  West  and  on  the  Mississippi  River.  In 
Missouri,  not  far  from  the  borders  of  the  State  of 
Arkansas,  at  a  place  called  Elkhorn,  there  was  a 
severe  battle  on  the  8th  of  March,  1862.  The  Fed 
eral  forces  engaged  were  under  the  command  of 
Si  gel  and  General  Curtis,  while  the  Confederates 
were  commanded  by  Generals  McCulloch,  Price, 
and  Van  Dorn.  *  The  victory  seemed  to  be  with 
the  Federals,  because  the  Confederates  were  the 
first  to  withdraw,  but  the  losses,  both  in  killed  and 
wounded,  were  the  heaviest  on  the  side  of  the  Fed 
erals. 

In  this  battle  the  brave  Confederate  command 
er,  General  McCulloch,  was  killed,  and  General 
Stirling  Price  was  severely  wounded.  The  death 
of  General  McCulloch  was  a  great  loss  to  the 
South,  for  he  was  one  of  the  bravest  and  most 
dashing  of  all  the  officers  in  that  service.  , 

At  this  time  the  abolition  army  began  to  make 
strong  demonstrations  on  the  Mississippi  River. 
The  State  Legislature  of  Tennessee  had  removed 
from  Nashville  to  Memphis.  At  Madrid  Bend  and 


174  SHILOH    AND    P1TTSBUKG    LANDING. 

at  Island  No.  10  in  the  Mississippi,  above  Memphis, 
were  stationed  Confederate  forces,  as  remote  de 
fences  of  that  city.  On  the  15th  of  March,  1862, 
the  Federals  opened  a  furious  bombardment  upon 
oth  of  these  points. 

The  Confederate  defences  at  these  places  had 
oeen  constructed  under  the  skillful  supervision  of 
General  Beauregard,  and  were  of  very  great 
strength.  The  Federals  made  the  attack  with  five 
iron-clad  gun-boats  and  four  mortar-boats.  The 
bombardment  was  kept  up  continuously  night  and 
day  for  fifteen  days,  without  producing  the  least 
visible  impression  upon  the  Confederate  works. 
In  that  time  the  abolitionists  fired  three  thousand 
shells,  and  expended  over  one  hundred  thousand 
pounds  of  powder,  and  the  only  damage  they  did 
was  to  kill  one  Confederate  soldier.  But  the  abol 
itionists  lost  two  gun-boats,  or  at  least  one  was 
sunk  and  the  other  disabled.  Such  were  the  facts 
detailed  in  General  Beauregard's  official  report  to 
the  Confederate  Government. 

But  at  this  critical  moment  General  Beauregard 
was  called  away  to  check  a  formidable  movement 
of  the  Federals  to  cut  off  his  communications  with. 
Richmond,  by  an  immense  land  force  of  80,000 
men,  under  General  Grant,  and  another  of  40,000, 
under  Buell. 

The  absence  of  General  Beauregard  from  Island 
No.  10  was  the  cause  of  its  speedy  reduction. 
General  McCall,  who  was  appointed  to  the  com 
mand  of  the  post,  was  wholly  incompetent  for  so 
responsible  a  trust.  The  Federals  had,  with  mi- 


8HILOH    ANI>   PITTSBUEG   LANDING.  175 

raculous  energy  and  perseverance,  cut  a  canal 
across  the  peninsula  formed  by  the  remarkable 
bend  in  the  river,  which  was  twelve  miles  in  length, 
and  which  enabled  the  Federal  gun-boats  to  get 
past  the  impregnable  Confederate  works  at  Island 
No.  10,  without  much  difficulty,  especially  since 
the  general  who  had  taken  Beauregard's  place  was 
not  over  shrewd  and  vigilant. 

This  canal  was  truly  a  miracle.  I  have  said  that' 
it  was  twelve  miles  long,  but  this  is  the  smallest 
part  of  the  wonder.  It  had  to  be  cut  through  a 
forest  of  large  trees,  which  had  to  be  bt  sawed  off 
four  feet  under  water."  Through  this  canal  two 
of  the  Federal  gun-boats  slipped  past  No.  10  on 
the  night  of  April  5th,  while  the  Federal  com 
mander,  flag-officer  Foote,  adroitly  held  the  atten 
tion  of  the  Confederate  general  by  an  attack  on 
the  opposite  side. 

Now  the  Mississippi  was  held  both  above  and 
below  the  island  by  the  Federals,  in  large  force  at 
both  points.  There  was  nothing  left  for  the  Con 
federate  commander  to  do  but  to  get  off  as  speedily 
as  possible.  This  he  did  in  the  most  unskillful 
and  disgraceful  manner.  He  spiked  all  his  guns 
so  imperfectly  that  they  were  in  a  short  time  un- 
spiked  and  made  serviceable  to  the  abolitionists* 
By  this  defeat  the  Confederates  lost  seventy  can 
non,  most  of  them  of  the  largest  calibre,  and  a  vast 
amount  of  powder,  shot,  shells,  and  other  valuable 
munitions  of  war,  besides  about  200  of  their  sol 
diers  taken  prisoners.  It  was,  under  the  circum 
stances,  an  irreparable  loss  to  the  South. 


176  SHILOH    ANF    PITTSBUEG    LANDING. 

While  tliese  events  were  progressing  on  the 
Mississippi  Biver  above  Memphis,  the  forces  were 
gathering  for  an  immense  battle  in  Tennessee, 
about  ninety  miles  east  of  Memphis.  All  the  Con 
federate  forces  that  were  available  were  gathered 
under  Beanregard  at  or  near  Corinth,  which  is 
situated  at  the  junction  of  the  Memphis  and 
Charleston,  and  Mobile  and  Ohio  railroads  in  the 
State  of  Mississippi. 

At  this  time  General  Albert  Sidney  Johnston  wat 
also  on  the  march  with  his  army  from  Murfrees 
boro,  to  join  General  Beauregard  at  Corinth.  The 
junction  of  the  two  armies  of  Beauregard  and 
Johnston  made  a  really  splendid  army,  though 
probably  much  less  in  numbers  than  the  force 
under  Grant  which  was  then  encamped  only  a  few 
miles  away,  upon  the  west  bank  of  the  Tennessee 
Eiver.  But  it  was  not  General  Grant's  intention 
to  attack  the  Confederates  until  he  was  reinforced 
by  Buell's  army,  which  was  then  on  the  rapid 
march  from  Nashville  to  join  him. 

Generals  Beauregard  and  Johnston,  being  ap 
prised  of  this  design,  at  once  resolved  to  bring  on 
the  battle  before  Buell's  army  could  arrive  to  rein 
force  Grant.  Accordingly,  on  the  morning  of 
Sunday,  the  6th  of  April,  one  of  the  greatest  bat 
tles  of  the  war  was  opened,  with  General  Johnston 
the  principal  in  command  on  the  part  of  the  Con 
federates.  The  battle  commenced  at  daylight,  and 
by  six  or  seven  o'clock  was  raging  along  the  whole 
line  of  the  two  armies  with  terrific  splendor.  The 
Confederates  fought  with  a  desperation  that  seemed 


8HILOH    AND   PITTSBUEG    LANDING.  177 

madness.  Everywhere  Grant's  forces  were  driven 
back,  although  they  fought  with  the  greatest  cour 
age  and  determination.  Their  lines  were  con- 
tiii  daily  broken,  but  they  were  constantly  supplied 
with  fresh  victims.  Thus  the  battle  raged  with 
anabating  fury,  the  tide  of  victory,  setting  every 
where  in  favor  of  the  South,  when  at  two  o'clock 
General  Johnston  was  mortally  wounded,  while 
leading  an  assault  at  the  head  of  his  column.  But 
the  battle  was  already  gained,  and  the  dying  hero 
breathed  his  last  amid  the  wild  shouts  of  the  vic 
tory  he  had  won. 

The  news  of  General  Johnston's  fall  was  kept  as 
long  as  possible  from  the  army.  Grant's  forces 
were  pushed  back  to  the  river.  One  after  another 
of  his  positions  were  carried,  until,  by  six  o'clock  in 
the  evening,  his  whole  line  was  forced  back  to 
Pittsburg  Landing,  where  he  was  sheltered  by  his 
gunboats.  All  of  Grant's  encampments,  with  an 
immense  amount  of  spoils,  were  in  the  possession 
of  the  Confederates,  who  were  the  undisputed 
masters  of  the  field.  They  had  three  thousand 
prisoners,  including  one  division  commander,  Gen 
eral  Prentiss,  and  several  brigade  commanders, 
with  many  thousand  stand  of  small  arms,  and  vast 
quantities  of  forage,  subsistence,  munitions  of  war, 
and  any  quantity  of  means  of  transportation. 

The  number  of  General  Grant's  force  in  this 
great  battle  was  45,000  men.  The  number  of  Con 
federates  was  less  than  38,000.  The  Confederates 
declared  that  they  had  to  contend  with  Western 
troops,  and  said,  "  had  we  fought  against  Eastern 


178  SHILOH    AND    PITTSBURG 

or  New  England  soldiers,  we  should  have  whipped 
them  in  half  the  time."  General  Pr^ntiss,  when  he 
was  taken  prisoner,  said  to  General  Beauregard, 
"  You  have  defeated  our  best  troops  to-day." 

The  Sunday  night  of  this  day's  terrible  tattle, 
the  Confederate  troops  slept  on  their  arms  in  the 
Federal  encampment.  In  the  meantime,  General 
Grant's  army  was  in  a  most  perilous  condition. 
His  reserve  line  was  entirely  destroyed,  and  his 
whole  army  crowded  into  a  small  circuit  about 
Pittsburg  Landing.  They  were  driven  to  the  very 
river's  bank,  and  a  surrender  the  next  day  seemed 
inevitable.  But  during  the  night  Grant  was  rein 
forced  by  more  fresh  troops  than  Beauregard  had 
in  his  whole  command.  Divisions  under  Generals 
Buell,  Nelson,  Crittenden,  Thomas,  and  McCook, 
had  all  come  just  in  time  to  save  Grant's  whole 
army  from  surrender. 

At  six  o'clock  on  Monday  morning,  a  hot  fire 
from  Grant  told  Beauregard  plainly  enough  the 
story  of  the  arrival  of  ample  Federal  reinforce 
ments.  In  an  hour's  time  another  deadly  battle, 
as  fierce  as  that  of  the  previous  day,  was  raging 
along  the  whole  line,  Foi  four  or  five  houra 
Beauregard's  army  repulsed  every  assault  with 
marvellous  valor,  several  times  pushing  precipi« 
tately  back  even  the  columns  of  fresh  troops  which 
were  constantly  hurled  against  them  in  such  vast 
superiority  of  numbers. 

An  English  officer  in  the  Confederate  service, 
writing  a  description  of  the  battle,  says  :  "In  some 
places  we  drove  them  by  unexampled  feats  of 


8HILOH    AND   PITTSBURG   LANDING.  179 

valor,  but  sheer  exhaustion  was  hourly  telling  upon 
both  man  and  beast.  Until  noon  we  retained  the 
ground  heroically,  but  it  became  evident  every 
moment  that  numbers  and  strength  would  ulti 
mately  prevail,  so  that  although  we  had  gained 
everything  up  to  this  hour,  a  retreat  was  ordered. 
Beauregard  had  prepared  all  the  roads  for  this 
movement.  There  was  no  hurry  or  confusion,  but 
everything  was  conducted  as  if  in  a  review.  We 
slowly  fell  back,  leaving  little  of  consequence  be 
hind,  General  Breckinridge  and  his  Kentuckians 
bringing  up  the  rear.  We  thus  in  an  orderly  man 
ner  fell  back  about  two  miles,  and  obtaining  a  fa 
vorable  position  for  our  small  force,  reformed  line 
of  battle,  and  waited  several  hours.  The  enemy 
did  not  stir ;  they  seemed  content  to  hold  and  not 
pursue,  and  did  not  remove  five  hundred  yards 
from  their  original  position  of  the  morning.  Gen 
eral  John  Pope  was  entrusted  with  the  duty  of  fol 
lowing  us  up,  but  he  acted  very  cautiously  and 
fearfully,  contenting  himself  with  capturing  two  or 
three  hundred  exhausted  and  foot-sore  Tennes- 
seans,  who  lay  down  by  the  roadside." 

With  characteristic  swagger  and  untruthfulness 
General  Pope  telegraphed  to  Washington  :  "As 
yet  I  have  seen  nothing  but  the  backs  of  the 
rebels."  The  simple  truth  was  that  he  did  not 
venture  near  enough  to  see  even  their  "  backs." 

This  ended  one  of  the  most  terrible  battles  ever 
fought,  either  in  ancient  or  modern  times. 


CHAPTEB  XXH. 

fHE   *ALL    -yf  IrEW   ORLEANS — INFAMY   OP  "BUTLEB   THB 
BEAST/' 

NEITHER  the  people  of  New  Orleans,  nor  the 
Confederate  Government  at  Richmond  had  any 
fears  whatever  of  New  Orleans  falling  into  the 
hands  of  the  abolitionists.  But  their  dream  of  se 
curity  was  fallacious.  An  immense  Federal  fleet 
had  long  threatened  that  city,  without  venturing 
to  make  any  demonstration  against  its  defensive 
works  at  Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Philip. 

But  on  April  17th,  1862,  Flag-officer  Farragut 
commenced  bombarding  the  forts.  His  fleet  con 
sisted  of  forty-six  sail,  carrying  two  hundred  and 
eighty-six  guns,  and  twenty-one  mortars.  Many 
of  these  guns  were  of  the  most  formidable  size. 
General  Duncan  was  in  command  of  the  forts. 
He  had  twelve  gun-boats,  one  iron-clad,  and  a  ram 
war-boat  called  the  Manassas.  He  was  regarded 
as  one  of  the  best  artillerists  in  America.  After  a 
terrible  bombardment  had  been  carried  on  against 
him  for  one  week,  he  telegraphed,  on  the  23d  of 
April,  that  the  Federals  had  made  no  impression 
upon  his  works.  It  is  said  that  25,000  thirteen- 
inch  shell  were  thrown  from  Farragut's  mor- 


PALL    OF    NEW    ORLEANS.  181 

tar-boats,  without  doing  the  least  damage  to  the 
works. 

But  at  half-past  three  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  the  24th  of  April,  Farragut's  fleet  steamed  up 
the  river,  and,  by  an  astonishing  feat,  absolutely 
ran  the  gauntlet  between  the  two  forts,  placing 
the  city  of  New  Orleans  completely  at  his  mercy. 
General  Lovell,  the  commander  of  the  Confederate 
land  forces,  had  a  small  force  of  Confederates  in 
the  city,  but  he  was  requested  by  the  civil  authori 
ties  to  withdraw  without  making  any  fight,  to  save 
the  city  from  the  destruction  of  a  bombardment. 
This  General  Lovell  consented  to  do,  after  some 
hesitation,  as  it  was  certain  that  it  would  be  im 
possible  to  remove  the  women  and  children  in  any 
time  that  would  be  allowed  by  the  Federal  com 
mander.  Besides,  General  Lovell  had  no  force, 
and  could  get  none,  to  save  the  city  from  either 
destruction  by  bombardment  or  surrender.  It 
was  therefore  agreed  between  him  and  the  mayor 
that  the  city  should  be  surrendered,  or  rather  left 
for  the  enemy  to  enter  without  resistance.  For 
the  Mayor  refused  to  go  through  any  ceremony  of 
formally  surrendering  the  city. 

Flag-officer  Farragut  was  very  rude  and  haughty 
in  his  communications  with  the  Mayor.  For  in* 
stance,  the  State  flag  of  Louisiana  floated  from  the 
City  Hall,  and  Farragut  sent  word  that  it  must  be 
hauled  down.  This  was  not  only  an  unreasonable 
but  a  very  foolish  demand,  as  the  flag  was  the  em- 
Diem  of  State  authority,  and  not  that  of  the  Con 
federate  Government.  Mayor  Monroe  refused  to 


182  FALL    OP   NEW    ORLEANS. 

haul  down  the  State  flag.  The  city  was  at  the 
mercy  of  the  Federal  commander,  and  he  could  do 
what  he  pleased,  but  the  flag  would  not  be  hauled 
down  by  the  order  of  the  city. 

Several  days  elapsed  in  this  correspondence  be 
tween  Farragut  and  the  Mayor.  Farragut  threat 
ened  to  bombard  the  city  with  all  the  men  and 
women  in  it,  if  the  State  flag  was  not  taken  down. 
But  no  Louisianian  could  be  found  to  tear  down 
the  State  flag,  even  with  these  brutal  threats  of 
destroying  the  city  continually  coming  from  Far- 
lagut. 

At  length  he  was  brought  to  his  senses,  probably 
by  the  fear  that  the  transports  freighted  with  Ben. 
Butler  and  his  army  would  arrive  in  time  for  that 
notorious  character  to  share  in  the  honors  of  first 
occupying  the  city.  So  on  Tuesday  morning,  the 
first  of  March,  Farragut  gave  up  all  he  had  been 
contending  about  with  childish  weakness  for  three 
or  four  days,  and  sent  some  of  his  own  men  to  tear 
down  the  harmless  State  flag  of  Louisiana. 

General  Ben.  Butler  took  possession  as  military 
governor  of  the  city  on  the  1st  of  May.  Then 
commenced  a  reign  of  insolence,  despotism,  and 
terror,  such  as  was  never  before  witnessed  in  any 
Christian  or  civilized  country.  Ben.  Butler  before 
the  war  was  a  lawyer  of  a  great  deal  of  bad  emi 
nence,  in  Lowell,  Massachusetts.  He  was  con 
sidered  a  man  of  considerable  ability,  but  utterly 
destitute  of  integrity  and  honor.  This  reputation 
was  a  thousand  times  more  than  confirmed  by  his 
infamous  rule  in  New  Orleans.  Even  women  and 


PALL    OF    NEW    ORLEANS.  188 

young  girls  were  subjected  to  the  most  scandalous 
treatment  and  torture  at  his  hands. 

The  private  citizens  were  plundered,  not  only  of 
their  gold,  but  of  their  jewelry,  their  silver-ware, 
and  all  articles  of  value  Butler  could  lay  his  handa 
on.  The  elegantly  furnished  mansions  of  private 
and  merely  business  citizens  were  in  many  in 
stances  stripped  of  all  their  most  valuable  articles, 
or  taken  possession  of  by  some  of  the  most  brutal 
and  shameless  of  Butler's  officers,  and  converted 
into  dens  of  debauchery  and  every  other  infamy. 

Both  men  and  women  were  savagely  torn  from 
their  families  and  sent  to  dungeons  for  such  things 
as  laughing  at  Federal  soldiers,  and  other  harm 
less  acts,  which  were  never  before  treated  aa 
offences  by  any  civilized  nation.  In  some  instances 
the  dead  were  dug  up  by  Butler's  order,  to  see  if 
rings  and  other  valuable  jewelry  had  not  been  left 
upon  their  person  by  the  afflicted  relatives.  To 
such  an  extent  were  these  horrid  deeds  practiced 
that  the  wretch  obtained  the  cognomen  of  "Butler 
the  Beast,"  by  the  common  consent  of  mankind — 
a  title  which  will  stick  to  his  infamous  name  as 
long  as  the  memory  of  the  war  shall  last. 

An  English  officer  in  the  Confederate  service 
has  the  following  remarks  on  the  cruelty  and  bru 
tality  of  Ben.  Butler's  rule  in  New  Orleans  :  "  The 
rule  of  General  Butler  in  New  Orleans  has  been 
forever  rendered  odious  and  detestable  by  his 
many  acts  of  cruelty,  despotism,  and  indecency. 
Nor  shall  I  add  more  than  say,  that  he  has  ren 
dered  himself  contemptible  to  friends  and  foea 


184  FALL    OF   NEW    ORLEANS. 

throughout  the  civilized  world.  His  general  or 
ders  are  a  mass  of  cruelty  and  folly — an  eternal 
monument  of  his  base  and  indefensible  character  ; 
and  in  his  persecution  of  women,  he  has  shown  his 
'  inmanly  disposition  and  temper,  beyond  all  formei 
xanaple." 

He  imprisoned  a  Mrs.  Phillips  on  Ship  Island, 
on  the  charge  of  laughing  at  the  funeral  procession 
of  a  Federal  soldier. 

The  truth  of  the  case  was  as  follows  :  Mrs. 
Phillips  (wife  of  Phillip  Phillips,  -formerly  United 
States  Senator  from  Alabama)  was  standing  on  her 
balcony  ;  and  when  the  cortege  passed,  many  chil 
dren  in  the  next  house,  who  had  a  dancing  party, 
ran  to  the  balcony,  and  all  began  to  laugh.  She 
was  treated  barbarously  on  Ship  Island,  and  went 
deranged  ;  but  Butler  laughed  at  her  sufferings, 
but  would  not  mitigate  the  punishment,  saying 
that  ( all  women  were  strumpets  who  laughed  at 
Federal  soldiers.'  He  wished  it  to  be  believed 
that  he  was  fearless,  yet  he  wore  armor  under  his 
clothes,  slept  on  board  ship,  and  was  never  for  a 
moment  without  an  armed  guard,  whether  in  or 
out  of  his  house,  while  several  pistols,  ready  cocked 
and  capped,  lay  beside  him,  and  sentinels  walked 
within  five  paces  of  him.  He  had  a  large  sign 
placed  in  his  office  in  the  St.  Charles  Hotel,  with 
the  inscription  : 

'  A  she-adder  bites  worse  than  a  male  adder.  " 

This  was  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the 
world  where  people  were  imprisoned  for  the  harm- 


PALL    OF    NEW    ORLEANS,    ETC.  186 

less  folly  of  laughing  at  either  the  living  or  the 
dead,  tfrniles  were  never  before  punished  as  a 
crime.  But  the  infamous  tyrant  who  committed 
these  crimes  against  humanity  and  law,  will  be  re 
paid  for  all  his  barbarity,  by  having  the  contempt 
of  the  virtuous  of  all  mankind  while  he  lives,  and 
by  having  his  very  family  and  friends  shrink  from 
the  mention  of  his  name,  as  "  Butler  the  Beast," 
when  he  is  dead. 

His  deliberate  murder  of  a  young  man  by  the 
name  of  Mumford  alone  would  stamp  his  name 
with  eternal  infamy.  William  B.  Mumford  had 
taken  down  a  United  States  flag  which  somo  sol 
diers  had  placed  there,  and  which  was  wrongfully 
there,  because  the  city  had  not,  at  that  time,  been 
surrendered,  nor  formally  occupied  by  the  Federal 
army.  And  if  it  had  been,  the  act  of  taking  it 
down  was  an  act  of  war,  and  not  a  crime.  But  it 
was  in  reality  neither  an  act  of  war  nor  a  crime. 
And  besides,  it  was  done  before  Butler  had  formal 
possession  of  the  city.  For  this  Butler  ordered 
him  to  be  hanged,  and  he  was  hanged.  A  more 
cold-blooded  murder  never  took  place,  and  the 
brave  young  man  well  said,  when  standing  upon 
"Beast  Butler's"  gallows,  "I  consider  that  the 
manner  of  my  death  will  be  no  disgrace  to  my 
wife  and  child ;  my  country  will  honor  them.' 
And  so  it  will,  when  the  name  of  this  brutal  assas 
sin  is  placed  in  history  by  the  side  of  the  mosi 
infamous  criminals  of  the  world. 


CHAPTEE  XXTEL 

STONEWALL  JACKSON  IN  THE  SHENANDOAH. 

about  the  time  of  the  entrance  of  Butlei 
New  Orleans,  there  were  some  stirring  events 
parsing  in  the  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah,  between 
Stonewall  Jackson  and  the  forces  under  the  Fed 
eral  General  Shields.  General  Banks  had  been  in 
that  region  all  winter,  but  supposing  that  General 
Jackson  had  left '  the  valley,  he  went  off  to  Wash 
ington. 

A  correspondent  who  was  with  Jackson's  army 
at  this  time,  wrote  as  follows  :  "  When  I  last  put 
pen  to  paper  I  did  not  imagine  that  old  Stonewall 
intended  moving  in  such  fearful  weather  ;  but 
when  it  was  known  that  the  general's  servant  had 
packed  up,  I  knew  we  were  all  bound  for  a  tramp 
somewhere.  His  negro  said,  "  Whenever  I  misses 
massa  a  little  while  in  de  day,  I  allers  knows  he's 
prayin'  a  spell ;  whenever  he's  out  all  day,  I  knows 
we's  going  to  move  next  day  ;  but  when  he  stays 
out  and  comes  back  to  have  a  long  spell  of  prayin', 
I  knows  dare's  goin'  to  be  a  fought  somewhar, 
mighty  qtiick,  and  dis  chile  packs  up  de  walibles 
and  gets  out  ob  de  way  like  a  sensible  cullored 
pusson !" 


STONEWALL  JACKSON. 


Page  186. 


STONEWALL  JACKSON  IN  THE  SHENANDOAH.     187 

The  same  writer  who  relates  this  anecdote,  gives 
the  following  interesting  picture  of  the  immortal 
Stonewall  Jackson  : 

" '  Stonewall'  may  be  a  very  fine  old  gentleman, 
and  an  honest,  good-tempered,  industrious  man, 
but  I  should  admire  him  much  more  in  a  state  of 
rest  than  continually  seeking  him  moving  in  the 
front.  And  such  a  dry  old  stick,  too !  As  for 
uniform,  he  has  none — his  wardrobe  isn't  worth  a 
dollar,  and  his  horse  is  quite  in  keeping,  being  a 
poor,  lean  animal  of  little  spirit  or  activity.  And 
don't  he  keep  his  aids  moving  about!  Thirty 
miliis  ride  at  night  through  the  mud  is  nothing  of 
a  job  ;  and  if  they  don't  come  up  to  time,  I'd  as 
soon  face  the  devil,  for  Jackson  takes  no  excuses 
when  duty  is  in  hand.  He  is  about  thirty-five 
years  old,  of  medium  height,  strongly  built,  solemn 
and  thoughtful,  speaks  but  little,  and  always  in  a 
calm,  decided  tone  ;  and  from  what  he  says  there 
is  no  appeal,  for  he  seems  to  know  every  hole  and 
corner  of  this  valley  as  if  he  made  it,  or  at  least, 
as  if  it  had  been  designed  for  his  own  use.  He 
knows  all  the  distances,  all  the  roads,  even  to  cow- 
paths  through  the  woods  and  goat  tracks  along 
the  hills.  He  sits  on  his  horse  very  awkwardly, 
(although,  generally  speaking,  all  Virginians  are 
fine  horsemen)  and  has  a  fashion  of  holding  his 
head  very  high,  and  chin  up,  as  if  searching  for 
something  skywards  ;  yet  although  you  can  never 
see  his  eyes  for  the  cap-peak  drawn  down  over 
them,  nothing  escapes  his  observation. 

"  His  movements  are  sudden  and  unaccountable 


188     STONEWALL  JACKSON  IN  THE  SHENANDOAH. 

his  staff  don't  pretend  to  keep  up  with  him,  and 
consequently,  he  is  frequently  seen  alone,  poking 
about  in  all  sorts  of  holes  and  corners,  at  all  times 
of  night  and  day.  I  have  frequently  seen  him  ap 
proach  in  the  dead  of  night  and  enter  into  conver 
sation  with  sentinels,  and  ride  off  through  the 
darkness  without  saying,  '  God  bless  you,'  or  any 
thing  civil  to  the  officers.  The  consequence  is, 
that  the  officers  are  scared,  and  the  men  love  him. 
What  service  he  has  seen  was  in  Mexico,  where  he 
served  as  lieutenant  of  artillery.  At  one  of  the 
battles  there  his  captain  was  about  to  withdraw 
the  guns,  because  of  the  loss  suffered  by  the  bat 
tery,  and  also  because  the  rang4  was  too  great. 
This  did  not  suit  our  hero  ;  he  advanced  his  piece 
several  hundred  yards,  and  'shortened  the  dis 
tance,'  dismounted  his  opponent's  guns,  and  re 
mained  master  of  the  position." 

An  anecdote  is  told  of  this  great  commander  in 
one  of  his  Shenandoah  battles  against  Banks. 
Being  dissatisfied  with  the  manner  in  which  one 
of  his  cannon  was  handled,  he  jumped  from  his 
horse,  and  giving  the  cannon  a  deadly  aim  with 
his  own  hands,  he  devoutly  lifted  his  eyes  to 
heaven,  uttering  this  prayer,  "The  Lord  have 
mercy  on  their  guilty  souls,"  and  gave  the  word  to 
<  Fire." 

Jackson's  small  force  of  only  twenty-one  hundred 
men  was  at  a  place  called  Kearnstown,  when  on 
the  afternoon  of  tke  twenty-third  of  March,  Gen 
eral  Shields  advanced  upon  them  in  great  force. 
Jackson  instantly  formed  his  line  of  battle,  with 


STONEWALL  JACKSON  IN  THE  SHENA»IX)AH.   189 

Brigadier-General  Garnett  commanding  the  left, 
while  Ashby  with  his  cavalry  hel  d  the  right,  and 
Jackson  himself  the  centre.  The  battle  raged 
with  fearful  violence  for  four  hours,  during  which 
time  Jackson's  little  band  contended  with  unpar 
alleled  gallantry  against  overwhelming  numbers. 
Bat  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening  he  ordered  a 
retreat,  after  having  lost  five  hundred  men  in  killed 
and  wounded,  three  hundred  prisoners,  and  two 
cannon. 

General  Shields  made  no  attempt  to  follow  him 
until  the  next  day.  Though  defeated,  General 
Jackson  lost  no  baggage,  and  no  officer  of  promi 
nence  in  his  command  was  killed.  General  Shields 
lost  several  officers,  and  was  himself  badly  wounded 
in  the  arm  by  a  shell.  But  he  had  achieved  a 
great  glory  in  defeating  Stonewall  Jackson,  for  he 
is,  I  believe,  the  only  Federal  general  who  has  won 
that  renown. 

But  the  skill  and  successes  of  General  Shields  in 
the  field  did  not  save  him  from  the  persecution  of 
the  abolitionists.  He  was  blind  enough  to  sup 
pose  that  the  object  of  the  war  was  not  to  free 
negroes,  but  to  simply  enforce  the  laws  of  the 
United  States.  He  therefore  did  not  use  his  army 
to  steal  negroes,  or  to  wantonly  plunder  and 
destroy  the  property  of  private  citizens.  And  on 
this  account  the  whole  abolition  press  literally 
howled  at  him,  notwithstanding  he  had  saved  the 
Northern  army  in  the  Shenandoah  from  utter  an 
nihilation  in  consequence  of  the  innumerable  blun 
ders  of  General  Banks.  But  his  faithful  adherence 


190      STONEWALL  JACKSON  IN  THE  6HENANDOAH. 

to  the  rules  of  civilized  war,  together  with  his  re 
fusal  to  use  his  army  to  catch  negroes,  caused  Mr. 
Lincoln's  government  to  give  him  the  alternative 
of  resigning  or  being  removed. 

When  he  came  back  to  Washington,  with  his 
health  shattered  by  his  severe  campaigns  in  the 
mountains  of  Virginia,  he  met  with  Senator  Sum- 
ner,  of  Massachusetts,  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  Lin 
coln.  Sumner  at  once  began  to  upbraid  him 
for  his  course  in  not  allowing  negroes  to  come 
within  the  lines  of  his  army.  General  Shields  re 
plied  that  he  had  discovered  that  a  great  number 
of  the  negroes  that  thronged  the  Federal  camps 
were  simply  spies,  who  remained  within  our  lines 
just  long  enough  to  learn  all  they  were  capable  of 
retaining,  and  then  stole  back  to  tell  the  Confed 
erates  all  they  knew. 

He  also  stated  that  when  he  accepted  a  com 
mand,  it  was  his  understanding  that  the  object  of 
the  war  was  not  to  free  negroes,  but  to  preserve 
the  Union.  Sumner  replied  that,  "If  the  object 
of  the  war  was  not  to  abolish  slavery,  there  is  no 
object  of  the  fight  commensurate  with  the  vast  ex 
penditure  of  life  and  property,  and  I  would  gc  for 
stopping  it  to-morrow."  This  remark  was  made  in 
the  presence  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  General  Shields 
was  surprised  that  he  said  not  one  word  in  contra 
diction  of  Sumner' s  statement  that  the  sole  object 
of  the  war  was  to  free  negroes. 

General  McClellan,  General  Buell,  General  Fitz- 
John  Porter,  as  well  as  General  Shields,  lest  their 
commands,  and  were  persecuted,  because  they  in- 


STONEWALL  JACKSON  IN  THE  SHENANDOAH.      191 

sisted  on  conducting  the  war  on  the  rules  recog 
nized  by  all  Christian  nations,  and  also  because  of 
their  understanding  that  the  object  of  the  war  wag 
to  preserve  the  Union,  and  not  to  free  negroes. 
Thus  was  the  Northern  army  stripped  of  four  of 
its  very  ablest  generals,  who  were  sacrificed  to  tha 
black  and  piratical  shrine  of  abolitionism. 


OHAPTEE  XXIV. 

EMBARKATION   OP   THE  ARMY   OF   THE   POTOMAC   FOB  THI 

PENINSULA EVACUATION    OF   YORKTOWN 

BATTLE   OF   WILLIAMSBURG. 

WHILE  the  events  described  in  the  last  chapters 
were  progressing  General  McClellan  was  busy  in 
perfecting  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  for  a  grand 
march  against  Eichmond.  For  more  than  six 
months  he  had  been  wholly  employed  in  perfecting 
that  great  army.  The  impatience  of  Congress, 
and  the  clamor  of  the  abolitionized  people,  had 
been  continually  raising  the  cry  again  of  "  on  to 
Richmond. "  But  General  McClellan  rather  pomp 
ously  and  boastfully  declared  we  "  were  to  have  no 
more  defeats,  no  more  retreats,"  and  no  amount  of 
clamor  could  induce  him  to  move  before  he  was 
ready. 

But  early  in  the  spring  of  1862  he  began  to 
think  of  placing  his  tremendous  army  in  the  field 
of  active  operations.  But  a  very  great  difficulty  con 
fronted  him.  The  Black  Republican  lep^ders  dis 
covered  that  he  was  not  an  abolitionist.  They 
furthermore  saw  that  he  was-  so  popular  with  the 
army  that  his  views  would  naturally  be  to  a  great 


EMBARKATION  OF  THE  AKMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC.  193 

extent  shared  by  it.  Then  some  Democratic  pa 
pers  had  mentioned  his  name  in  connection  with 
the  next  nomination  for  the  Piesidency.  It  was 
at  once  seen  that  his  very  great  popularity  with 
tb°  army  would  render  him  a  formidable  can- 
dyiate.  So  they  resolved  upon  his  ruin,  even  if  it 
cost  the  North  the  price  of  its  whole  army.  North 
ern  preachers  declared  that  the  best  thing  for  the 
country  would  be  McClellan'e  defeat. 

Mr.  Lincoln  and  his  Cabinet  were  for  having  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  go  over  the  old  Bull  Kun 
route  on  the  way  to  Richmond.  To  this  plan  Gen 
eral  McClellan  was  invincibly  opposed.  The 
question  was  finally  referred  to  a  council  of  the 
chief  officers  of  the  army,  by  whom  General  McClel- 
lan's  plan  of  the  Peninsular  campaign  was  almost 
unanimously  recommended.  But  this  was  not  the 
end  of  his  embarrassments.  A  new  Department  of 
the  Mountain,  in  Virginia,  had  been  created  to 
make  a  place  for  General  Fremont.  Notwithstand 
ing  that  General  had  conducted  himself  so  badly 
and  foolishly  in  Missouri  that  the  President  was 
obliged  to  remove  him  from  his  command,  the 
more  violent  leaders  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  party  dogged 
the  President  until  he  made  a  new  place  for  him. 
And  now  they  insisted  that,  notwithstanding  Gen 
eral  McClellan  was  just  moving  to  try  to  take 
Richmond,  ten  thousand  of  his  men  under  General 
Blenker  should  be  taken  from  him  and  sent  to 
Fremont's  army  away  up  to  the  mountains. 

General  MeClellan  so  strongly  remonstrated 
against  this  act — setting  forth  that  he  already  had 


194  EMBABKATION  OF  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC. 

the  smallest  number  of  men  he  thought  necessary 
for  his  great  undertaking — that  the  President 
assured  him  that  the  men  in  Blenker's  command 
should  not  be  withdrawn  from  his  army.  Notwith 
standing  this  solemn  promise  of  the  President  he 
did  order  Blenker's  division  tu  be  sent  to  Fremont, 
only  the  day  before  McClellan  was  to  start  on  his 
great  campaign.  For  this  act  of  faithlessness  Mr. 
Lincoln  pleaded  the  great  "  pressure  upon  him." 

While  General  McClellan  was  solemnly  reflect 
ing  upon  this  vacillation  or  treachery  on  the  part 
of  Lincoln,  a  member  of  his  staff  said  :  "  General, 
the  authorities  at  Washington  are  painfully  afraid 
that  you  will  succeed  in  taking  Bichmond,  and 
therefore  are  stripping  your  army  in  the  beginning." 
McClellan  replied,  *  Such  treachery  seems  imposs 
ible,  and  yet  it  does  look  like  it." 

But  the  preparations  were  fully  made  for  the 
transportation  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  to  the 
Peninsula.  The  Peninsula  is  an  isthmus  formed 
by  the  James  and  York  Rivers.  It  is  from  seven 
to  fourteen  miles  wide,  and  about  fifty  miles  long. 
To  reach  it  the  grand  army  went  in  transports 
down  the  Potomac  to  Fortress  Monroe,  which  is 
seventy-five  miles  land  march,  over  the  Peninsula 
to  Bichmond.  The  van  of  the  grand  army  started 
for  Fortress  Monroe  on  the  17th  of  March,  1862. 
Division  after  division  left  as  fast  as  the  transport 
boats  could  be  loaded.  It  was  a  grand  sight.  The 
whole  transport  fleet  consisted  of  over  four  hun 
dred  steamers  and  sailing  vessels,  which  had  to 
carry  an  army  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-one 


EMBARKATION  OF  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC.  195 

thousand,  five  hundred  men,  with  fourteen  thou 
sand  animals,  forty-four  batteries,  together  with 
wagons,  ambulances,  pontoon  trains  and  all  the 
other  vast  appointments  for  so  tremendous  an 
army. 

It  took  from  the  17th  of  March  to  the  2d  of 
April  to  transport  this  vast  army  from  Washington 
to  Fortress  Monroe.  It  at  once  commenced  its 
march  towards  Yorktown  on  the  way  to  Rich 
mond. 

At  Yorktown  was  a  Confederate  fort,  which  had 
just  been  re-enforced  by  General  Johnston,  the 
Confederate  commander.  General  McClellan's 
plans  for  forcing  those  works  were  entirely  frus 
trated  by  want  of  support  from  Washington.  His 
intention  was  to  make  a  naval  and  land  assault 
upon  the  place  at  the  same  time.  The  naval  part 
of  the  combined  attack  was  to  be  executed  by 
Flag-officer  Goldsborough  ;  and  the  land  attack 
he  assigned  to  Genera!  McDowell's  corps.  Bu* 
Flag-officer  Goldsborough  wrote  General  McClel 
Ian  that  he  could  send  no  naval  support  to  him, 
and  on  the  very  day  when  he  expected  McDowell's 
corps  he  received  an  order  from  Washington  that 
that  part  of  his  army  had  been  detached  from  his 
command,  and  retained  at  Washington. 

This  was  a  heavy  blow  to  McClellan.  The  same 
member  of  his  staff  who  had  addressed  him  on  a 
former  occasion  in  relation  to  the  jealousy  of  the 
Administration,  said  :  "You  see  how  it  is,  General; 
it  is  certain  that  you  are  not  to  be  supported  in 
this  campaign." 

14 


196  EVACUATION    OF    YORKTOWN. 

There  was  now  nothing  left  for  McClellan  to  do 
but  to  undertake  the  siege  of  Yorktown.  This 
work  he  commenced  at  once.  When  on  the  fifth 
of  May  he  had  succeeded  in  finishing  his  works 
necessary  to  commence  firing  upon  the  fort,  it  was 
discovered  that  it  was  evacuated  by  the  Confed 
erates.  This  fact  called  forth  many  unfriendly 
remarks  from  the  Abolition  press.  A  siege  which 
had  been  rendered  necessary  by  the  withdrawal 
of  expected  support  from  Washington,  and  had 
been  executed  with  so  much  skill  as  to  force  the 
Confederates  to  evacuate  the  fort  without  risking 
a  fight,  was  still  the  subject  of  unfriendly  criticism 
in  the  government  organs. 

The  Confederates  evacuated  Yorktown  on  the 
3d  of  May.  It  was  General  Johnston's  design  to 
retreat  with  his  whole  army  to  the  defences  of 
Richmond.  To  General  Longstreet  was  entrusted 
the  duty  of  defending  the  rear  of  the  army  and  of 
worrying  the  advancing  columns  of  McClellan  as 
much  as  possible.  For  this  purpose  General 
Longstreet  made  a  stand  at  Williamsburg,  about 
fifteen  miles  from  Yorktown. 

At  Williamsburg  the  Confederates  had  some 
what  extensive  works,  called  Fort  Magruder. 
Though  it  was  no  part  of  the  Confederate  plan  of 
the  defence  of  Eichmond  to  hold  this  fort  after 
McClellan  had  passed  Yorktown,  yet  it  was  a  good 
place  to  inflict  some  chastisement  upon  the  invad 
ing  army  without  any  risk  whatever  to  the  Confed 
erate  army.  So  at  this  point  on  the  fifth  of  May  a 
bloody  battle  occurred.  The  Northern  forces  en- 


BATTLE    OF    WILLIAMSBURG.  197 

gaged  were  Hooker's  division.  Smith's  division,  a 
part  of  Couch's,  and  Hancock's  brigade,  and  the 
rear  of  the  Confederate  army,  commanded  by 
Long-street. 

•  The  battle  was  opened  by  Hooker  directly  in 
front  of  Fort  Magruder.  The  fort  kept  up  only  a 
sufficient  show  of  resistance  to  thoroughly  engage 
the  attention  of  General  Hooker,  while  the  wily 
General  Longstreet  poured  in  a  rapid  succession 
of  attacks  upon  his  left  flank,  which  gave  Hooker 
more  than  he  wanted  to  do  all  day,  and  which,  but 
for  the  arrival  of  General  Kearney's  division  at 
five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  would  have  resulted 
in  the  destruction  of  General  Hooker's  whole  divi 
sion.  During  the  battle  the  Confederates  steadily 
but  slowly  forced  back  the  invaders  over  two 
miles.  Both  sides  fought  with  determined  bravery. 
But  Longstreet  so  skilfully  handled  his  troops 
that  he  inflicted  a  terrible  punishment  upon  the 
Federals,  with  a  comparatively  smah1  damage  to 
his  force.  General  Hooker's  loss  was  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  men,  six  field  pieces,  several  thou 
sand  stand  of  arms  and  several  hundred  prisoners. 

At  nightfall  the  battle-field  was  in  the  possession 
of  the  Confederates.  At  two  o'clock  the  next 
morning,  after  securing  whatever  booty  the  field 
afforded,  Longstreet  commenced  to  fall  back 
towards  the  main  body  of  the  Confederate  army, 
which  was  then  many  miles  ahead  of  him. 

The  Federals  made  no  haste  to  follow.  They 
did  not  even  enter  Williamsburg  in  force  until 
towards  evening  the  next  day,  sixteen  hours  aftei 


198  BATTLE    OP    VVTLLIAMSBURG. 

the  Confederates  had  left  it.  But  as  Longstreet 
was  without  transportation  lie  was  obliged  to 
leave  his  wounded  behind  in  Williamsburg.  It  is 
rather  a  mortifying  thing  to  reflect  upon  that  the 
Federal  commander  took  occasion  from  this  fact 
to  claim  a  victory  ;  when  the  plain  truth  was  that 
Longstreet  had  turned  round  .and  dealt  the  ad 
vance  columns  of  McClellan's  army  a  terrible  blow, 
and  then  pursued  his  march,  with  very  little  loss 
to  himself,  and  considerable  booty  from  the  foe. 
Enough  of  such  victories  would  not  have  left 
McClellan  a  single  soldier  to  march  back  to  Wash 
ington.  The  number  of  Federal  soldiers  engaged 
in  the  battle  could  not  have  been  much  less  than 
forty  thousand,  while  Longstreet  had  but  twenty 
thousand  in  the  fight. 

The  gallant  Colonel  Lomax  of  the  Nineteenth 
Mississippi  regiment  was  killed  while  leading  a 
most  daring  charge  against  Dan  Sickles'  brigade  ; 
and  his  negro  recovered  the  body  in  the  Federal 
lines,  and  carried  it  several  miles  on  his  back,  and 
conveyed  it  to  Richmond  to  the  bereaved  wife,  to 
keep  a  promise  he  had  made — "  that  he  would  never 
let  his  master's  body  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy" 

Up  to  the  time  that  abolition  demoralization 
reached  the  Southern  negroes  their  hearts  were 
with  fheir  masters  and  their  masters'  cause.  In 
almost  every  town  in  the  South  they  gave  balls, 
part?  as  and  fairs  for  the  benefit  of  the  Confederate 
Bole7  .ers  and  sent  thousands  of  dollars,  of  clothes, 
bit  kets,  shoes,  &c.,  for  "Massa  and  de  boys  in 


BATTLE    OF    WILLIAMSBUEG.  199 

Varginny."  In  Vicksburg  the  negroes  gave  a  ball 
which  realized  a  thousand  dollars,  and  freely  gave 
it  all  for  the  Confederate  cause.  Indeed,  it  was 
their  custom  to  boast  "dat  de  Soofern  colored 
man  can  whip  a  Norfern  nigger  wid  de  Yankee  to 
back  him." 


CHAPTEE  XXV. 

DOENQS    OF    STONEWALL    JACKSON    IN    THE    SHENANDOAB 
VALLEY. 

ALTHOUGH  the  Northern  newspapers  tried  to  keep 
a  good  face  on  the  fight  at  Williamsburg,  there  was  a 
settling  doubt  on  the  minds  of  the  people  as  to  the 
way  matters  were  going  in  the  field.  The  initial 
battle  in  the  campaign  had  evently  been  adverse 
to  the  North. 

But  MoClellan  continued  to  push  forward  his 
columns,  until  by  the  16th  of  May  his  advance 
divisions  had  reached  the  point  known  as  the 
"White  House,"  the  head  of  navigation  on  the 
Pamunkey  River,  eighteen  miles  from  Richmond. 

General  Johnston  had  already  withdrawn  his 
whole  army  behind  the  line  of  the  Chickahominy 
River,  and  it  was  evident  that  he  had  determined 
to  fight  his  great  and  decisive  battle  from  the  im 
mediate  defences  of  Richmond. 

To  act  in  conjunction  with  McClellan  a  fleet  of 
Federal  gun-boats,  under  the  command  of  Com 
modore  Rodgers,  sailed  up  the  James  River.  The 
fleet  met  with  no  opposition  until  it  reached  Fort 
Darling,  on  Drury's  Bluff,  about  twelve  miles  from 
Richmond.  But  at  that  place,  after  a  four  hours' 
engagement  with  the  guns  of  the  fort,  it  was  com 
pelled  to  haul  off  with  several  of  the  boats  badly 


DOINGS    OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON.  201 

damaged.  Now  we  have  the  situation  of  all  the 
Federal  force  acting  for  the  taking  of  Eichmond. 
The  gun-boats  on  the  James  River  twelve  miles 
from  the  city,  and  McClellan's  army  resting  on  the 
Chickahominy,  eighteen  miles  distant. 

But  here  McClellan's  offensive  movements,  as  I 
shall  show  you,  really  ended,  and  he  ever  after  had 
to  act  on  the  defensive.  The  Federal  forces,  instead 
of  being  concentrated  for  a  decisive  battle,  were 
scattered  about  at  great  distances  from  each  other 
in  four  distinct  armies.  There  was  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  on  the  Peninsula  in  Virginia,  then  in 
Western  Virginia  there  was  the  Army  of  The  Moun 
tain,  created  expressly  to  make  a  command  for 
Fremont,  to  stop  the  ceaseless  threats  and  clatter  of 
the  more  violent  of  the  abolitionists.  Then  there 
was  the  Army  of  the  Shenandoah,  under  General 
Banks,  and  the  Department  of  the  Rappahannock, 
under  General  McDowell. 

Now  when  the  authorities  at  Washington  saw 
the  position  in  which  they  had  placed  McClellan's 
army  they  began  to  feel  the  necessity  of  doing 
something  for  the  protection  of  Washington.  For 
it  was  evident  that,  if  McClellan's  army  was  de 
stroyed,  there  would  be  nothing  to  prevent  the 
whole  Confederate  force  from  marching  directly  on 
Washington,  as  Richmond,  in  that  event,  would 
be  effectually  relieved  from  danger. 

It  was  therefore  resolved,  at  this  eleventh  hour, 
to  consent  that  General  McDowell  should  march 
to  reinforce  McCleUan  on  the  Chickahominy.  But 
some  of  the  "  Republican"  papers  were  careful  to 


202  DOIKGS    OP   STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

say  before  hand  that,  if  the  army  of  the  Potomac 
should  prove  successful,  it  would  be  through  the 
hand  of  General  McDowell :  notwithstanding  that 
they  had  before  abused  that  General  for  the  defeat 
of  Bull  Run. 

General  McDowell,  at  the  time  we  were  speaking 
of,  had  an  army  of  thirty  thousand,  at  Fredericks- 
burgh.  For  the  purpose  of  enabling  him  to  march 
to  attack  Richmond  with  McClellan,  General  Shields' 
division  of  ten  thousand  men  was  ordered  from  the 
army  of  General  Banks  to  go  to  McDowell,  which 
made  his  effective  force  over  forty  thousand  men. 

The  26th  of  May  was  set  as  the  time  when  Mc 
Dowell's  column  was  to  move.  But  before  it  had 
been  pushed  more  than  ten  miles  from  Fredericks- 
burg,  the  shrewd  commander  at  the  head  of 
the  Confederate  army,  General  J.  E.  Johnston, 
quickly  saw  the  nature  of  the  movement,  and  it 
was  easy  for  him  to  stop  it.  He  had  only  to  give 
the  word  to  Stonewall  Jackson,  who  was  already 
up  in  that  region  to  make  one  of  his  dashing  cam 
paigns  down  through  the  valley  again  to  put  a  stop 
to  all  reinforcements  to  McClellan  from  that  quar 
ter,  or  any  other. 

At  this  time  Banks'  army  was  at  Harrisonburg. 
Fremont  was  at  Franklin,  on  the  other  side  of  the 
mountains,  in  Western  Virginia.  But  a  brigade 
of  his  department,  under  Milroy,  was  on  its  way 
to  reinforce  Banks.  Jackson,  in  the  first  place,  by 
a  rapid  march  of  seventy  miles  threw  his  gallant 
force  against  the  command  of  Milroy  and  Blenker 
combined  and  drove  it  back. 


DOINGS    OF   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  SJ03 

General  Fremont  rushed  to  their  assistance,  but 
Jackson,  leaving  some  cavalry  to  deceive  Milroy, 
suddenly  retraced  his  steps,  and  joined  General 
Ewell,  whom  he  had  left  in  the  valley  with  tea 
thousand  men.     General  Banks,  supposing   tha 
Jackson  was  engaged  over  the  mountains  in  West 
ern  Virginia,    was   quietly  making  his   way    to 
wards  Fredericksburg,  unconscious  of  danger.    On 
the  morning  of  the  22d  of  May,  however,  Banks 
heard  Stonewall  Jackson's  guns  in  his  rear. 

Ewell  was  sent  to  seize  Winchester,  General 
Banks'  great  depot  of  army  stores,  while  Jackson 
attacked  his  advance  at  Front  Eoyal.  Banks  was 
not  only  completely  outwitted,  but  seemed  to  lose 
all  self-possession.  He  did  not  retreat,  he  flew, 
and  never  stopped  until  he  got  on  the  north  bank 
of  the  Potomac.  It  is  said  he  made  the  remarka 
ble  time  of  fifty-three  miles  in  forty-eight  hours. 
Immense  stores  of  all  kinds  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Confederates.  It  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
exploits  of  the  war,  and  made  the  name  of  Stone 
wall  Jackson  famous. 

When  the  authorities  at  Washington  heard  that 
Stonewell  Jackson  was  at  Winchester,  and  then  up 
at  Harper's  Ferry  again,  they  were  wild  with  an 
other  alarm,  and  instantly  ordered  McDowell  to 
face  about,  and  instead  of  marching  to  attack 
Richmond,  to  fly  up  the  Shenandoah  to  protect 
Washington.  President  Lincoln  had  been  heard 
to  boast  that  he  had  "  set  a  trap  for  Jackson." 
But  now  he  was  trembling  with  the  fear  that  he 
should  fall  into  the  trap  himself. 


204  DOINGS    OF    STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

Now  there  was  a  combined  force  of  thirty  thon« 
sand  men,  under  Fremont  and  Shields,  in  a  grand 
chase  to  catch  Jackson,  with  his  sixteen  thousand. 
But  he  outwitted  all  his  pursuers.  Fremont  in 
tended  to  go  down  on  one  side  of  the  Shenandoah 
River  and  Shields  on  the  other,  and  thus  cut  off 
Jackson's  retreat.  Ashby's  cavalry,  however,  held 
Fremont  in  check.  It  was  during  this  retreat  that 
General  Turner  Ashby,  one  of  Virginia's  most  chiv- 
alric  sons,  fell  while  leading  a  gallant  charge  at 
the  head  of  his  command.  Jackson  kept  on  in  his 
course  until  he  arrived  at  Cross  Keys,  where  he 
turned  upon  Fremont,  soundly  whipped  him,  and 
then  crossed  the  Shenandoah  Eiver  at  Port  Ke- 
public,  burning  the  bridge  behind  him,  and,  falling 
like  a  thunderbolt  upon  Shields'  command,  almost 
annihilated  it. 

Thus  ended  Jackson's  brilliant  Valley  campaign, 
and  with  it  ended  all  idea  of  the  frightened  Mr. 
Lincoln  of  sending  reinforcements  to  McClellan. 
Jackson's  little  army  had  become  so  "  everywhere 
present"  that  the  abolitionists  at  Washington  be 
gan  to  shake  as  soon  as  they  heard  the  name  of 
Stonewall  Jackson  mentioned. 


CHAPTEE  XXVI. 


BATTLE    OF  "  FAIR  OAKS,"    OR  "  THE   SEVEN   PINES,"    AND 

"GAINES'  MILLS." 


GENERAL  MCCLELLAN'S  situation  on  the  banks  of 
the  Chickahominy  was  a  critical,  if  not  a  painful 
one.  Whether  from  necessity  or  over-caution,  he 
was  certainly  painfully  inactive.  The  disappoint 
ment  in  not  receiving  the  co-operation  of  McDow 
ell's  army  might  well  paralyze  him,  for  he  would 
never  have  been  caught  in  the  situation  he  found 
himself  placed  in,  had  it  not  been  a  part  of  the 
plan  of  the  attack  upon  Richmond  from  that  point, 
that  McDowell  should  be  sent  to  co-operate  with 
him. 

General  Johnston  having  succeeded  in  his  skill 
fully  devised  trick  to  prevent  the  union  of  McDow 
ell's  with  McClellan's  forces,  determined  at  once  to 
strike  a  decisive  blow  by  an  attack  upon  McClel- 
lan  in  his  situation  at  Seven  Pines  and  Fair  Oaks 
Station,  on  the  banks  of  the  Chickahominy  River 
The  attack  was  to  commence  on  the  morning  of 
the  31st  of  May.  To  General  D.  H.  Hill  and  Gen 
eral  Longstreet  was  entrusted  the  attack  upon 
McClellan's  front,  while  General  Huger  was  to 
assail  his  left  flunk,  and  General  G.  W.  Smith 
his  right.  Smith,  Longstreet,  and  Hill  were  al] 


206  PAIK   OAKS. 

promptly  in  position  at  eight  o'clock,  but  they  had 
been  ordered  to  wait  and  not  begin  the  attack  un 
til  they  heard  Huger's  forces  firing  on  the  left. 
They  waited  impatiently  for  two  hours  for  the  sig 
nal  gun  of  Huger.  The  cause  of  his  delay  was  a 
difficulty  in  crossing  the  river,  a  fact  which  was 
at  the  time  unknown  to  Generals  Longstreet  and 
Hill, 

At  ten  o'clock  General  Hill  advanced  and  opened 
the  battle  by  attacking  McClellan's  front,  which 
was  pretty  well  entrenched,  and  therefore  the 
assailing  Confederates  met,  not  only  a  determined 
resistance,  but  a  most  murderous  fire.  Soon,  how 
ever,  a  brigade  of  Johnston's  army  succeeded  in 
gaming  a  position  partially  in  the  rear  of  McClel 
lan's  redoubts  or  breastworks,  and  commenced  a 
furious  flank-fire  upon  them,  which  in  a  short  time 
drove  the  Federals  out,  leaving  their  guns  in  the 
possession  of  the  Confederates. 

But  all  this  time  nothing  was  heard  of  Magru- 
der ;  and  General  Gustavus  W.  Smith,  who  was  to 
attack  McClellan's  right  flank,  in  consequence  of 
the  course  of  the  wind,  heard  nothing  of  the  mus 
ketry  of  Hill  and  Longstreet,  and  did  not  learn 
until  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  that  a  battle 
had  been  going  on  all  day.  He  had  been  all  the 
ime  nervously  waiting  for  Magruder's  signal  gun 
o  begin  the  battle.  But  when  he  learned  the 
facts,  he  immediately  threw  his  men  forward  with 
such  force  and  fury  as  to  drive  everything  before 
them, 

The  most  desperate  courage  was  displayed  by 


BATTLE  OF  FAIR  OAKS.  207 

both  armies  ;  but  the  results  of  that  day's  terrible 
battle  were  in  favor  of  the  Confederates.  But 
General  Johnston,  the  commander-in-chief  of  their 
forces,  was  so  severely  wounded  that  it  was  a  long 
time  before  he  was  able  to  take  the  field  again. 

An  English  officer  in  the  Confederate  service 
from  whom  I  have  before  quoted,  says  of  this  bat 
tle  :  "  As  I  rode  through  the  enemy's  camp,  view 
ing  the  destruction  on  every  side,  I  met  Frank, 
one  of  Longstreet's  aids,  looking  as  blue  as  indigo. 
'What's  the  matter,  Frank?  Not  satisfied  with 
the  day's  work?'  I  enquired.  'Satisfied  be 
hanged/  he  replied.  c  I  saw  old  Jeff.  Davis,  Mai- 
lory,  Longstreet,  Whiting,  and  all  of  them,  a  little 
while  ago,  looking  as  mad  as  thunder.  Just  to 
think  that  Huger's  slowness  has  spoiled  every 
thing!  It  is  true,  Longstreet  and  Hill  fought 
magnificently,  as  they  always  do,  and  have  gained 
a  brilliant  victory  ;  but  had  Huger  obeyed  orders 
we  should  have  demolished  the  enemy.  As  it  is, 
their  right  is  routed  and  demoralized,  and  we  have 
gained  nothing  more  than  a  brilliant  victory." 

In  General  Johnston's  report  of  this  battle,  he 
says  :  "  We  took  ten  pieces  of  cannon,  six  thou 
sand  stand  of  arms,  one  garrison  flag,  four  stand 
of  regimental  colors,  a  large  number  of  tents,  be 
sides  much  camp  equipage  and  stores.  Our  loss 
was  four  thousand  two  hundred  and  eighty-two 
killed,  wounded,  and  missing ;  that  of  the  enemy 
is  stated  in  their  journals  to  have  been  ten  thou 
sand,  although  no  doubt  that  figure  is  far  belo\v 
the  truth." 


-08  BATTLE    OF   FAIE    OAKS. 

President  Davis  issued  a  short  congratulatory 
address  to  the  army  which  had  so  gallantly  won 
this  victory,  closing  with  these  words  :  "You  are 
fighting  for  all  that  is  dearest  to  man ;  and  though 
opposed  to  a  foe  who  disregards  many  of  tho 
usages  of  civilized  warfare,  your  humanity  to  the 
wounded  and  the  prisoners  was  the  fit  and  crown 
ing  glory  of  your  valor.  Defenders  of  a  just  cause, 
may  God  have  you  in  his  keeping." 

On  the  12th  of  June,  just  twelve  days  after 
this  battle,  which  was  followed  by  the  retrea".  of 
McClellan's  army,  General  Ben.  Butler  issued  the 
following  impudent  and  lying  bulletin  in  New 
Orleans  :  "  On  May  31st,  Richmond  was  evacuated, 
and  General  McClellan  took  possession  of  the  city ! 
General  Banks  had  driven  Stonewall  Jackson 
headlong  to  the  foot  of  General  McDowell,  who 
before  this  has  probably  kicked  him  over  the  bor 
der.  So  ends  the  drama ! — it  is  enough." 

I  am  ashamed  to  confess  that  this  is  only  a 
specimen  of  the  misrepresentation  and  falsehood 
with  which  the  people  were  insulted  by  certain 
of  the  Northern  press  and  Northern  generals  dur 
ing  the  whole  progress  of  the  war. 

After  the  wound  of  General  Johnston,  General 
Robert  E.  Lee,  who  was  then  acting  as  chief  of 
the  war  department  in  Richmond,  was  appointed  to 
Johnston's  place  as  commander-in-chief  of  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  though  the  immediate 
command  of  the  forces  in  the  field  fell  upon  Gen 
eral  Longstreet  when  Johnston  was  disabled. 

The  battle-field  of  "  Fair  Oaks"  or  "  Seven  Pines5 


GEN.    ROBERT   E.    LEE. 


Page  20& 


BATTLE    OP    GAINBS'    MILLS.  209 

is  only  six  miles  from  Richmond,  and  so  after  the 
Confederate  General  had  delivered  his  severe  blow 
he  retired  his  army  within  the  lines  of  the  defences 
of  that  city,  and  McClellan's  troops  at  once  re- 
occupied  the  ground  from  which  they  had  been 
driven  by  the  day's  battle. 

After  this  battle  some  time  elapsed  without  any 
active  operations  on  either  side  worth  mentioning. 
But  in  this  pause  General  Lee  was  busy  in  prepar 
ing  to  deal  a  decisive  blow  to  the  invaders.  He 
decided  to  concentrate  all  the  available  force  of 
the  Confederate  armies  at  Eichmond.  This  plan 
involved  the  withdrawal  of  Jackson  from  the 
Shenandoah.  To  put  McClellan  and  the  authori 
ties  at  Washington  off  their  guard  he  made  a  feint 
of  reinforcing  Jackson  in  the  Shenandoah  valley 
at  the  very  time  he  was  bringing  his  whole  force 
to  Eichmond.  This  movement  he  cunningly 
masked  by  detaching  a  division,  under  General 
Whiting,  and  sending  it  off  to  join  Jackson.  At 
once  the  rumor  flew  over  the  North  that  Lee  was 
preparing  to  invest  Washington.  Lincoln,  McClel 
lan,  Congress,  and  everybody  in  the  North  were 
deceived  ;  for  all  this  time  Jackson  with  a  force 
now  increased  to  twenty-five  thousand  men  was 
secretly  and  rapidly  marching  to  reinforce  Lee  at 
Eichmond.  So  skilfully  did  Jackson  conceal  his 
march  that  neither  Banks,  Fremont,  nor  McDowell 
had  any  idea  that  he  had  left  the  valley  of  the 
Shenandoah,  and  were  all  the  time  making  pro 
digious  preparations  to  keep  him  off  of  Wash 
ington. 

15 


210  BATTLE   OP    GAIKES'    MILLS. 

In  the  meantime  Lee  sent  that  bold  cavalryman, 
General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  with  fifteen  hundred  troops 
to  make  a  raid  round  the  whole  circuit  of  McClel- 
lan's  army.  This  bold  undertaking  was  a  perfect 
success.  The  whole  North  was  startled  with  a  re 
port  that  Lee  was  in  McClellan's  rear.  And  Lee 
was  put  in  possession  of  a  perfect  knowledge  of 
the  position  of  the  invading  army,  and  at  once 
ordered  a  general  forward  movement. 

General  Jackson  had  already  arrived  at  a  point 
where  he  could  sustain  the  attack  commenced  by 
the  rest  of  the  Confederate  forces.  On  the  after 
noon  of  the  26th  June,  General  A.  P.  Hill  crossed 
the  Chickahominy  Kiver  at  a  place  called  Meadow 
Bridge,  while  the  divisions  of  Longstreet  crossed 
at  Mechanicsville  Bridge,  with  the  intention  of 
marching  down  the  north  bank  of  the  river  to 
gether  for  a  general  attack  upon  McClellan's  lines. 

But  they  had  no  sooner  crossed  the  river  than 
they  were  confronted  by  General  Fitz  John  Porter's 
corps  which  held  a  strongly  intrenched  position. 
A  short  but  bloody  conflict  took  place  at  this 
point,  in  which  the  Confederates  were  repulsed 
with  fearful  loss,  for  the  number  of  men  engaged. 
The  engagement  did  not  cease  till  nine  o'clock  at 
night,  when  each  side  occupied  the  same  position 
that  it  did  at  the  opening  of  the  engagement. 

The  next  morning  at  day  break  the  Confederates 
renewed  the  attack  upon  McClellan's  forces,  then 
posted  at  Games'  Mills.  This  position  was  ad 
mirably  chosen  and  heroically  defended.  All  day 
the  waves  of  battle  surged  to  and  fro,  and  thousands 


BATTLE    OF    GAINES*    MILLS.  £il 

of  brave  men  on  both  sides  bit  the  dust.  The  sun 
was  just  sinking  down  in  the  West  as  if  to  hide 
its  face  from  the  ghastly  scene.  The  Confederates 
greatly  exhausted  had  sought  the  cover  of  a  piece 
of  woods,  and  McClellan  apparently  mistaking 
their  silence  for  defeat  moved  a  heavy  mass  of  in 
fantry  to  their  attack.  The  advance  was  beautiful. 
The  long  lines  of  splendid  infantry,  sent  up  cheer 
upon  cheer  as  they  advanced.  The  Confederates 
crouched  closely  to  the  ground,  and  when  the  Fed 
erals  arrived  within  a  hundred  yards,  they  poured 
a  deadly  volley  in  their  close  ranks,  then  rising 
with  unearthly  yells,  and  dashing  through  the 
smoke  of  battle  fell  upon  them  with  the  bayonet, 
the  pistol  and  the  bowie  knife.  The  Federal 
columns  fled  in  confusion. 

The  battle,  however,  was  not  ended.  McClel- 
lan's  artillery  still  occupied  a  commanding  hill  and 
was  sweeping  the  field  with  canister  and  grape. 
The  wise  forethought  of  Lee  had  provided  for  this 
emergency.  The  gallant  Texas  brigade  of  General 
Hood  had  been  held  in  reserve.  All  at  once  a  wild 
shout  arose !  It  was  the  Texans  with  their  gallant 
commander  on  foot,  leading  them  in  the  final 
charge.  On  they  came  like  an  avalanche.  "Nothing 
could  resist  them.  They  charged  among  the  re 
doubts  and  guns,  and  soon  McClellan's  line  was 
broken  beyond  recovery.  A  hand  to  hand  conflict 
ensued.  Clouds  of  dust,  smoking  woods,  long 
lines  of  musketry,  the  deafening  roar  of  artillery, 
were  mingled  in  the  wildest  confusion,  but  the 
Confederates  were  victorious.  Slowly,  and 


212  BATTLE    OF    QAINES'    MILLS. 

the  long  dense  lines  of  McClellan  retired  under 
the  cover  of  the  darkness. 

Scarcely  had  the  roar  of  the  cannon  ceased  at 
this  point  before  the  sound  of  Stonewall  Jackson's 
guns  broke  upon  the  ear.  He  had  fallen  upon 
McClellan's  rear  almost  while  that  officer  had  been 
dreaming  that  he  was  in  the  Shenandoah.  His 
line  of  retreat  was  cut  off!  Thus  ended  the  battle 
of  Games'  Mills. 

The  same  English  officer  whom  I  have  often 
quoted  in  this  history  has  made  the  following  re 
marks  upon  the  results  of  that  terrible  battle  :  "  The 
field  was  a  rich  booty.  I  myself  counted  fifteen 
magnificent  brass  and  bronze  field-pieces,  with 
caissons  and  horses  and  dozens  of  cannoneers  ex 
actly  as  they  were  left  by  their  vanquished  owners. 
Camps,  clothing,  thousands  of  prisoners,  and  im 
mense  quantities  of  small  arms,  banners,  drums. 
Many  of  our  troops  lay  fast  asleep  where  they  had 
halted,  some  of  them  using  a  dead  Federal  for  a 
pillow !  The  destruction  was  awful ;  and  if  many 
guns  fell  into  our  hands,  the  heaps  of  blue-jackets 
around  them  told  that  they  had  been  bravely  de 
fended.  Many  horses  were  shot ;  and  the  enemy 
finding  themselves  unable  to  carry  off  the  pieces, 
had  deliberately  cut  the  throats  of  the  uninjured 
animals  to  prevent  them  from  falling  into  their 
hands.  The  ground  around  the  cannons  was  dyed 
purple.  Judging  from  the  placid  countenances  of 
many,  I  thought  they  were  only  sleeping  ;  but  on 
closer  inspection  invariably  discovered  a  small 


BATTLE    OF    GAINES*    MILLS.  218 

hole  in  the  side  of  the  head,  made  by  the  unerring 
bullet  of  our  sharp-shooters  I" 

But  if  Lee  had  won  a  great  victory,  it  had  been 
at  an  immense  sacrifice  of  life,  and  the  loss  of  some 
of  his  bravest  officers.  Among  them,  Major  Kobert 
Wheat  fell  while  gloriously  charging  at  the  head 
of  his  Louisiana  Battalion.  With  tones  of  anguish 
it  was  whispered  around  by  his  comrades  :  "  Poor 
Wheat  is  gone."  His  dying  words  were  :  "  The 
field  is  ours,  as  usual,  my  boys.  Bury  me  on  the 
battle-field." 

Alas,  how  many  such  brave  and  patriotic  men 
have  fallen  in  this  cruel  and  wicked  abolition  war  ? 
How  many  happy  homes  made  desolate?  How 
many  kind  hearts  broken  ?  Will  the  just  Maker  of 
men  ever  forgive  the  fanatic  wretches  who  brought 
about  this  unnatural,  this  terrible  conflict  ? 


CHAPTEE  XXVII. 

McCLELLAN'S     KETKEAT. 

WITH  this  last  defeat  all  General  McClellan'a 
plans  for  taking  Richmond  were  suddenly  brought 
to  an  end,  and  his  genius  was  taxed  to  keep  his 
whole  force  from  being  gobbled  up  by  Lee's  victo 
rious  army.  There  was  no  alternative  left  but  to 
retreat  through  the  great  swamp  to  the  banks  of 
the  James  River,  where  he  could  enjoy  the  protec 
tion  of  his  gun-boats — those  friendly  supports 
which  had  so  often  saved  General  Grant  from  an 
nihilation  in  the  Western  campaigns. 

This  retreat  for  the  James  River  was  therefore 
commenced  immediately,  and  was  conducted,  as 
the  Confederate  commanders  confessed,  with  con 
summate  skill.  After  McClellan  succeeded  in  get 
ting  the  remains  of  his  army  to  the  James  River, 
the  Confederate  General  Hood  remarked  :  "If 
Grant,  or  any  other  Federal  general,  except 
McClellan  or  Sherman,  had  had  the  conducting 
of  that  retreat,  we  should  have  caught  the  whole 
army." 

Lee  vigorously  pursued  the  retreating  Federals. 
His  advance  column  overtook  a  portion  of  McClel- 
lan's  rear  on  Sunday,  the  29th  of  June,  at  Savage's 
Station,  on  the  York  River  railroad.  A  sharp  four 


MoCLELLAN'S    RETREAT.  215 

hours*  battle  took  place  at  this  point  The  Fed* 
erals  had  strongly  entrenched  themselves,  for  the 
purpose  of  checking  pursuit,  and  as  soon  as  Lee's 
column  came  within  range,  they  poured  forth  a 
murderous  fire.  After  three  or  four  hours  of  des 
perate  fighting,  the  Federals  were  driven  out  of 
their  trenches,  and  made  double  quick  retreat  to 
overtake  the  rest  of  the  army.  The  Confederate 
General  Griffiths,  of  Mississippi,  a  skillful  and 
heroic  officer,  was  killed  in  this  engagement. 

At  daybreak  the  next  day,  Monday,  June  30th, 
the  pursuit  of  the  retreating  Federals  was  resumed 
by  Lee's  victorious  army.  But  McClellan  was  con 
ducting  that  retreat  with  matchless  energy  and 
skill,  and  Lee's  forces  had  not  proceeded  many 
miles  when  they  were  surprised  at  a  place  called 
Fraizer's  Farm,  by  a  portion  of  McClellan's  army 
which  was  skillfully  covered  by  some  sedge  pines, 
which  completely  hid  it  from  the  view  of  the  pur 
suing  hosts.  At  the  very  first  fire  batteries  of  six 
teen  heavy  guns  opened  upon  the  advance  columns 
under  General  Hill.  Instantly  the  Confederates 
rushed  bravely  forward  into  the  very  jaws  of 
death.  From  several  lines  of  battle  they  received 
the  most  murderous  fire  of  musketry.  The  battle, 
though  short,  was  one  of  the  most  deadly  of  the 
war. 

Swinton,  in  his  excellent  history  of  "  The  Cam 
paigns  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,"  says  of  this 
conflict :  "  Finally  Bandall's  battery  was  captured 
by  a  fierce  charge  made  by  two  (Confederate)  regi 
ments,  advancing  in  wedge  shape,  without  order, 


216  M«CLELLAN'S    KETKEAT. 

but  with  trailed  arms.  Rushing  up  to  the  muzzles 
of  the  guns,  they  pistoled  or  bayoneted  the  can 
noneers.  The  greater  part  of  the  supporting  regi 
ment  fled ;  but  those  who  remained  made  a  savage 
hand-to-hand  bayonet  fight  over  the  guns,  which 
were  finally  yielded  to  the  enemy."  It  is  truly 
appalling  to  think  of  the  slaughter  of  so  many 
brave  men  on  both  sides,  and  all  for  the  sake  of 
forcing  upon  the  negro  a  condition  which  he  nei 
ther  asked  for  nor  knew  how  to  enjoy. 

The  following  is  a  story  which  an  English  officer 
gives  of  a  talk  with  an  old  negro  the  day  after  the 
battle  of  Fraizer's  Farm  ;  "  Returned  from  view 
ing  as  much  of  the  field  as  was  possible  in  the 
darkness,  I  observed  a  light  in  Fraizer's  house, 
from  which  also  there  was  smoke  ascending.  Feel 
ing  somewhat  cold,  and,  as  I  expected,  found  it 
occupied  by  many  of  the  wounded.  Before  the 
fire  sat  a  middle-aged  negro,  wrapped  up  in  a 
blanket  and  shivering. 

" '  What's  a-miss,  uncle/  taking  a  coal  to  light 
my  pipe. 

"  '  De  Lor'  bress  you,  massa  !  de  chills,  de  chills.' 

"  '  Were  you  here,  uncle,  during  the  fight  ?'  I 
asked,  taking  a  stool. 

"  '  No,  sar !  dis  chile  was  in  de  woods !  de  best 
place,  I  tink,  when  dem  ar  bullets  come  a-whistlrng 
an5  singing  roun'  yer  head.  Was  I  scart,  eh  ?  I 
tink  I  was  scart — it  was  worse  nor  half-a-dozen 
scarts  to  this  darkie.  Well,  you  see,  massa,  it  was 
dis  way.  When  ole  massa  hert  the  Lincumbites 
was  camin  rouu  deso  digging  'Pete/  says  he. 


MoOLELLAN's    RETREAT.  21 7 

'  I'so  gwine  to  Bichinon,  and  I  wants  you  ter  see 
to  things,  an'  mind  de  Lincumbites  don't  run  off 
wid  anything  ;  they  won't  hurt  you,'  says  he,  'but 
if  dey  only  catches  me,  I'm  a  gone  chicken.'  Weel, 
massa,  one  ebenin  while  I  eat  supper,  up  comes  a 
whole  lot  of  Lincumbites,  and  says  dey,  '  Whar's 
de  master,  nigger?'  'In  Eichmon/  says  I,  an5 
went  on  eatin  ;  but  a  big  fellow  says  to  me,  '  Hi, 
nigger,  yer  wanted  out  here,'  and  I  went  out. 
'  How  many  chickens  has  yes  got  ?'  says  one. 
'  Who's  deni  turkeys  long  to  ?'  says  another.  ( If 
yer  don't  bring  me  some  milk,  I'll  burst  yer  head/ 
says  one  in  de  crowd.  *  Pull  dat  bed  out  here/ 
says  another.  'Tuch  him  up  wid  de  bayonet/ 
says  another,  and  case  I  couldn't  begin  to  speak  to 
'em  all,  somebody  kicks  me  on  de  shin,  and  I  runs 
in  de  house.  One  of  de  men  wid  traps  on  shoul 
ders  comes  and  makes  'em  kind  o'  quiet,  but  I  find 
out  dey  hab  stolen  my  supper,  and  de  bed,  and  de 
chairs,  and  didn't  leave  me  my  ole  pipe !' 

" '  If  dis  is  de  Union  folks,  tinks  I,  dey  won't 
suit  dis  darkie,  sure  !  So  after  dey  stole  all  de 
chickens,  and  de  turkeys,  and  de  cabbage  and  ta- 
ters,  I  tought  it  was  about  time  for  dis  chile  to 
leave.  So  I  packs  up  two  or  tre  things  in  a  hand- 
kercher,  and  puts  out.  '  Halt  dar !'  says  a  big  fel 
ler,  wid  a  gun.  '  Where's  yer  gwine,  darkie/  says 
he.  '  I  gwine  to  Eichmon/  says  I,  '  to  massa,  to 
get  something  to  eat.' 

"  '  O,  yer  tick-headed  nigger,"  says  he,  « doesn't 
yer  knew  we's  de  great  liberation  army  ov  do  nor£ 
and  come  to  set  all  de  niggers  free  ?' 


218  MoCLELLAN's    RETREAT. 

"  *  I'se  a  free  colored  pusson,  any  how/  says  I, 
'  and  kin  go  anywhere  I'se  a  mind/  and  was  gwhiG 
to  pass  him,  when  he  hits  me  wid  de  gun,  and  two 
sodgers  seizes  me  by  de  scruff  ob  de  neck,  and 
hauls  me  up  before  de  kernal.' 

"  '  Where  did  you  cotch  de  contraban'  ?'  says  he, 
smoking  a  cigar,  big-like,  and  frowing  out  his  legs. 

" '  I'se  a  free  man,  sar/  says  I. 

" e  Hole  your  tongue/  says  he,  getting  kind  o' 
red ;  '  if  dese  people  doesn't  know  de  blessin'  of 
liberty,  dey  must  be  taught,  dat's  all.'  '  Take  him 
off  to  de  guard  house,  sargent/  says  he,  '  and  kase 
I  said  I'se  free,  de  sargent  begins  and  kicks  de 
cloth  out  ob  my  pants.' 

c  And  dare  dey  hab  me,  massa,  more  nor  a  week, 
feedin'  me  and  lots  ob  odder  darkies  on  black 
beans  and  pork  massa's  hogs  won't  eat.  But  when 
I  hears  do  firing  going  on — now's  de  time  for  dis 
chile,  says  I,  and  I  gets  out  ob  de  way  right  smart 
for  an  ole  darkey.  Fust  I  gets  to  de  right,  but  de 
bullets  fly  so  mighty  thick  I  runs  off  somewhar 
else  ;  den  one  ob  dem  big  screechin'  things  comes 
along,  and  I  begins  to  say  my  prayers  mighty  fast ; 
den  while  I  lay  behind  a  tree,  our  folks  comes  up, 
makin'  a  big  noise,  and  I  lays  berry  close  to  de 
groun' ;  but  I  get  mighty  scart,  and  runs  clar  into 
de  swamp,  and  dar  I  stays  until  just  now,  when  I 
crawls  home  agin,  shiverin'  in  every  jint.  Don't 
talk  to  me,  massa,  ob  de  norf.  I  knows  how  it  is — 
dey  only  wants  to  work  de  life  out  ob  de  colored 
folks,  and  den  dey  gives  'em  deir  free  papers,  to 
let  'em  starve.  Dey  can't  fool  dis  chile — he  knows 


McCLELLAN's    RETEEAT.  219 

more  nor  he  wishes  to  know  'bout  de  great  norf- 
ern  liberation  army/ 

"  De  darkies  better  stay  wid  ole  massa,  and  lib 
as  he  libs,  and  hab  doctors  to  look  afer  'em,  and  hab 
dimes  to  spend.  Dem  Yanks  is  big  fools,  and  dey 
tink  they's  good  as  us,  but  dey  ain't  half  as  good 
as  some  darkies,  if  dey  is  white  folks  and  talk 
big!" 

Now  this  old  negro  was  a  fair  specimen  of  the 
spirit  with  which  the  darkies  generally  regarded 
the  abolition  army.  They  were  a  thousand  times 
more  happy  and  contented  than  they  will  ever  be 
again.  It  was  hard  work  to  teach  them  to  hate 
their  masters.  It  has  cost  us  nearly  a  million  of 
white  men's  lives,  and  four  or  five  thousand  millions 
of  dollars,  to  force  upon  them  what  they  did  not 
want,  and  what  they  can  never  learn  to  use  with 
benefit  either  to  themselves,  or  to  the  superior 
white  race. 

After  the  last  battle,  at  Fraizer's  Farm,  McClel- 
lan  retreated  during  the  night  to  a  point  where  the 
right  wing  of  his  army  rested  under  the  protection 
of  the  Federal  gun-boats  in  James  River.  His 
front  was  strongly  intrenched  in  an  admirably 
chosen  spot  at  Malvern  Hill.  Never  was  a  position 
better  calculated  for  defence,  or  for  delivering  a 
terrible  blow  to  an  attacking  force.  This  was 
McClellan's  last  stand,  for  he  could  go  no  further, 
except  to  fall  entirely  back  to  the  bank  of  the 
River,  under  his  gun-boats. 

The  Confederate  forces  at  the  battle  of  Malvern 
Hill  were  under  the  command  of  General  Ma- 


220  MOCLKLLAN'S   RETREAT, 

gruder,  who  ordered  his  infantry  to  charge  in  the 
very  face  of  McClellan's  formidable  breastworks, 
behind  which  a  hundred  cannons,  of  the  heaviest 
calibre,  were  in  position  to  rain  a  perfect  shower 
of  grape  and  canister  down  through  the  open 
space,  over  which  the  Confederates  must  pass  to 
reach  them.  But,  at  Magruder's  mad  command, 
the  brave  fellows  rushed  forward  at  full  run,  while 
instantly  they  were  met  by  a  murderous  fire  from 
McClellan's  breastworks,  which  mowed  them  down 
like  grass. 

They  were  not  merely  repulsed,  they  were 
murdered.  Again  Magruder  ordered  fresh  victims 
for  the  same  slaughter,  and  again  the  gallant  men 
rushed  forward  only  to  be  killed.  Still  a  third 
time  the  foolish  command  was  given  for  more  men 
to  take  the  place  of  so  many  already  slaughtered 
in  the  fruitless  attempt.  A  soldier  who  was  in 
McClellan's  army  at  that  time  says  :  "  I  never  saw 
such  courage  as  those  Confederate  boys  displayed 
at  Malvern  Hill.  "We  were  in  a  position  where  we 
could  mow  them  down  just  like  winrows,  but  on 
and  on  they  kept  coming,  until  the  heaps  of  their 
dead  might  have  been  used  as  breastworks,  could 
they  have  been  reached  without  meeting  the  same 
certain  death  of  their  gallant  comrades  who  had 
one  before !" 

Thus  the  work  of  death  went  on  until  the  merci 
ful  darkness  put  a  stop  to  the  slaughter.  McClel 
lan's  works  had  not  been  carried,  but  the  Confed 
erates  occupied  the  field,  and  pushed  forward 
their  pickets  to  within  a  hundred  yards  of  his  guns. 


McCLELLAN's    8ETBEAT.  221 

During  the  night  McClellan  withdrew  as  secretly 
as  possible,  and  retreated  to  the  bank  of  the  Kiver 
at  Harrison's  Landing,  a  position  which  was  cov 
ered  by  his  gun-boats. 

This  was  the  last  battle  of  his  disastrous  re 
treat,  and  the  end  of  his  Peninsular  campaign. 
Never  before  had  so  many  stupendous  plans  mis 
carried.  Never  such  great  expectations  brought 
so  poor  a  termination.  Instead  of  taking  Rich 
mond  his  whole  army  narrowly  escaped  destruc 
tion,  and  nothing  at  last  saved  it  from  being 
captured  but  the  gun-boats  in  James  River. 

Some  idea  of  the  spirit  which  animated  the  Con 
federates  may  be  judged  off  from  the  following  in 
cident.  Major  Peyton,  a  Confederate  officer,  while 
leading  a  regiment  in  one  of  the  charges  at  Malvern 
Hill,  had  a  young  son,  only  fifteen  years  of  age, 
struck  down  by  a  cannon  ball.  The  boy  in  his 
agony  cried  out : 

"Help,  father,  help  me!" 

"When  we  have  beaten  the  enemy,"  was  the 
father's  stern  reply.  "  I  have  other  sons  to  lead  to 
glory.  Forward  men I" 

But  a  few  minutes  elapsed  before  another  can 
non  ball  lay  the  father  bleeding  by  the  side  of  his 
eon. 

Never  did  a  more  gallant  people  draw  a  sword 
than  these  Southern  men. 


CHAPTEE  XXYIH. 

fHE  INAUGURATION   OF  A  REIGN   OF  PLUNDER  AND  ARSON, 

AFTER  the  failure  of  the  Peninsular  campaign 
Mr.  Lincoln  issued  a  proclamation  calling  for 
300,000  more  soldiers.  The  people  of  the  North 
were  generally  discouraged,  that  is,  the  abolitionists 
and  all  who  sympathized  with  them  began  to  doubt 
their  ability  to  subjugate  the  South.  The  Black 
Republican  press  was  bitter  and  abusive.  It  was 
hard  work  to  raise  more  soldiers,  and  it  was  only 
by  paying  '  immense  bounties  that  any  recruits 
could  be  obtained. 

But  there  was,  however,  a  fresh  hope  dawning 
in  the  bosoms  of  the  abolitionists.  Hitherto 
McClellan's  commanding  influence  enabled  him  to 
impart  a  certain  moral  restraint  upon  the  army, 
and  to  keep  its  action  somewhere  within  the  rules 
of  civilized  warfare. 

But  that  influence  was  now  gone.  The  war  was 
to  be  changed  to  an  almost  universal  crusade  for 
theft  and  plunder.  Revenge  and  cruelty  were  to 
take  the  place  of  civilized  warfare. 

By  a  general  order  from  Washington  the  mil 
itary  commanders  were  directed  to  seize  all  the 
property  they  could  find  belonging  to  citizens  of 
the  Southern  Confederacy.  This  order  caused  alj 


EEIGN    OF    PLUNDER    AND    AESOX.  223 

Europe  to  look  upon  the  North  with  a  degree  of 
surprise  and  contempt,  for  it  was  a  violation  of  the 
rules  of  civilized  war. 

While  McClellan's  campaign  on  the  Peninsula 
was  progressing,  all  the  fragments  of  the  abolition 
armies  in  Northern  Virginia,  under  Banks,  Fre 
mont,  and  McDowell,  which  had  from  time  to  time 
been  cut  to  pieces  by  Stonewall  Jackson,  were 
consolidated  into  one  army,  under  the  command 
of  General  John  Pope.  This  was  called  the  "Army 
of  Virginia."  The  plan  of  forming  this  army  was 
in  the  first  place  started  by  the  more  ultra  of  the 
Black  Republicans,  with  the  hope  of  checking  the 
popularity  of  General  McClellan,  upon  whom  they 
were  convinced  they  could  not  depend,  to  carry 
out  the  uncivilized  plan  of  warfare  now  determined 
on.  They  had  also  cherished  hopes  that  this  army 
might  work  its  way  round  and  snatch  from  McClel 
lan  "  the  glory"  of  taking  Richmond.  This  accounts 
for  the  evident  satisfaction  expressed  by  some  of 
the  more  open-mouthed  of  these  abolitionists  when 
it  became  evident  that  McClellan  would  not  take 
Richmond. 

Pope  inaugurated  his  campaign  by  a  general 
order  entirely  worthy  of  his  own  brutal  nature  and 
of  the  savage  instincts  of  those  who  had  commis 
sioned  him.  Pope's  appointment  to  the  command 
of  this  new  "  Army  of  Virginia"  was  dated  June 
26th,  the  day  before  McClellan's  battle  at  Gairses' 
Mills.  The  infamous  order  above  referred  to  was 
dated  July  23d,  1862.  It  commanded  all  his  sub 
ordinate  officers  to  immediately  arrest  all  citizens 
16 


224  REIGN    OP   PLDNDEB    AND    ARSON. 

of  the  Confederate  States  within  their  reach,  and 
make  them  take  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  Lincoln, 
and  give  satisfactory  security  for  keeping  it,  or  be 
banished  from  their  homes  and  driven  farther 
South,  and,  if  they  ventured  to  return  to  their 
homes,  to  be  treated  as  spies,  that  is,  to  be  shot. 

The  object  of  this  barbarous  order  was  simply  to 
get  hold  of  the  private  property  of  the  Southern 
people.  His  order  was  couched  in  the  most 
bombastic  language,  declaring  that  his  headquar 
ters  should  be  in  the  saddle,  and  ridiculing  all 
such  ideas  as  lines  of  retreat  and  base  of  supplies. 
This  was  intended  as  a  cut  at  McClellan,  and  was 
greatly  relished  by  all  the  shallow  people  who 
could  be  taken  by  the  swagger  of  such  an  ignorant 
gasconader. 

He  also  declared  that  his  soldiers  should  not  be 
employed  in  guarding  "  rebel  property."  This  was 
looked  upon  as  general  order  for  arson  and  plunder. 
It  gave  great  delight  to  all  those  malignant  crea 
tures  known  as  "  radicals."  Indeed,  Pope's  brutal 
order,  which  was  most  congenial  to  his  own  bad 
heart,  was  evidently  inspired  by  the  leading  Black 
Eepublicans  of  Washington. 

But  General  McClellan  at  once  saw  that  such  an 
order,  proceeding  from  the  commanding  general 
of  the  new  Department  of  Virginia,  would  be  re 
garded  as  a  general  license  for  plunder  and  robbery, 
and  would  result  in  the  overthrow  of  all  discipline, 
and  therefore  of  all  efficiency  in  the  army. 

So  to  save  his  own  army  from  demoralization 
from  such  a  cause,  he  immediately  issued  an  order 


KEIGN    OF   PLUNDER    AND    ARSON.  225 

of  an  entirely  different  character,  in  which  he  used 
the  following  words :  "  The  idea  that  private  prop 
erty  may  be  plundered  with  impunity,  is,  per 
haps,  the  worst  that  can  pervade  an  army.  Maraud 
ing  degrades  as  men  and  demoralizes  as  soldiers  all 
who  engage  in  it,  and  returns  them  to  their  homes 
unfitted  for  the  honest  pursuits  of  industry.  The 
General  commanding  takes  this  occasion  to  remind 
the  officers  and  soldiers  of  this  army,  that  wo  are 
engaged  in  supporting  the  Constitution  and  laws 
of  the  United  States,  and  in  suppressing  rebellion  ; 
that  we  are  not  engaged  in  a  war  of  rapine,  revenge 
or  subjugation  ;  that  this  is  not  a  contest  against 
populations,  but  against  armed  forces  and  political 
organizations  ;  and  that  it  should  be  conducted 
by  us  upon  the  highest  principles  known  to  Chris 
tian  civilization." 

Three  weeks  from  the  date  of  this  order  General 
McClellan  was  virtually  removed  from  command. 
Creditable  as  it  was  to  him,  as  a  man  and  a  gen 
eral,  it  cost  him  his  command  ;  and  the  brutal  and 
ignorant  Pope  was,  for  the  moment,  the  pet  and 
nope  of  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his  party. 

Nor  can  we  be  surprised  at  this,  for  McClellan 
had,  in  his  order,  entirely  mistated  the  objects  of 
the  war.  He  had  correctly  set  forth  the  rules  of 
civilized  warfare,  and  had  well  defined  his  own  idea 
of  the  objects  of  the  war  ;  but  his  notions  of  the 
objects  of  the  war  and  those  of  Lincoln  and  his 
party  were  widely  different  It  ivas  "a  war  of 
rapine,  revenge  and  subjugation  ;"  it  icas  a  war 
"  against  populations,"  and  it  was  not  the  design 


226  KEIGN    OP   PLUNDER   AND   ARSON. 

of  those  who  were  waging  it  that  it  <  should  be 
conducted  upon  the  highest  principles  known  to 
Christian  civilization."  This  was  General  McClel- 
lan's  idea,  but  it  was  not  the  idea  of  Lincoln, 
Seward,  and  the  party  they  represented. 

No  one,  therefore,  can  be  surprised  that  McClel- 
lan  lost  his  command  after  the  publication  of 
the  humane  and  enlightened  order  to  his  army. 
Between  him  and  the  leaders  of  the  war,  there  was 
certainly  a  very  great  conflict  of  opinion.  Just  as 
much  of  a  conflict  as  there  is  between  civilization 
and  barbarism,  or  between  cruelty  and  humanity, 
or  vice  and  virtue. 

So  McClellan's  army  was  taken  from  him,  and 
was  removed  from  the  Peninsula  and  sent  to  act 
in  conjunction  with  Pope.  At  the  same  time,  Gen 
eral  Halleck,  an  old  army-officer,  who  had  been, 
up  to  this  tinie,  employed  in  the  West,  was  brought 
to  Washington  and  placed  in  the  position  of  Com 
mander-in-chief,  much  to  the  disgust  of  nearly 
every  one  of  the  best  officers  in  the  Northern  army. 
But  the  "  malignants  "  at  Washington  must  have  a 
fit  tool  of  the  despotism  and  cruelty  which  were 
now  to  be  the  fixed  policy  of  the  Administration. 
McClellan  could  not  be  used  for  such  a  tool,  Hal 
leck  and  Pope  could. 

One  of  Halleck's  letters  closed  with  these  brutal 
words  :  "  Our  armies  will  ere  long  crush  the  rebel 
lion  in  the  South,  and  then  place  their  heels  upon 
the  heads  of  sneaking  traitors  in  the  North."  By 
meaking  traitors  he  meant  all  the  patriotic  men  who 
loved  the  Union  our  fathers  made  and  refused  to 


REIGN    OF   PLUNDER   AND   AKSON.  221 

be  roped  into  the  bloody  ranks  of  abolition  des 
potism. 

Governor  Stone  of  Iowa  in  a  public  speech  at 
Keokuk  said :  •'  I  admit  this  to  be  an  abolition 
war  and  it  will  be  continued  as  an  abolition  war 
go  long  as  there  is  one  slave  at  the  South  to  b« 
made  free.  I  would  rather  eat  with  a  nigger, 
drink  with  a  nigger,  live  with  a  nigger,  and  sleep 
with  a  nigger  than  with  a  Democrat/' 

Such  vulgar  language  shows  the  hate  and  bitter 
ness  that  filled  the  hearts  of  the  abolitionists. 
About  this  time  the  abolition  papers  were  filled 
with  articles  asserting  that  the  war  would  never 
be  successful  until  Mr.  Lincoln  declared  all  the 
negroes  of  the  South  free.  Of  course  he  could  not 
free  the  negroes  until  after  he  had  conquered  the 
Southern  people,  for  they  would  not,  until  then,  be 
within  his  control.  But  still  the  abolitionists  were 
clamorous  for  the  act  to  be  done.  Mr.  Lincoln 
and  Mr.  Seward,  however,  were  not  yet 'ready  to 
throw  off  the  thin  mask  of  conservatism,  under 
which  they  commenced  the  war.  But  they  had 
wrought  up  the  Northern  people  to  a  pitch  of  fury 
and  made  them  ready  to  endorse  the  cruel  and  in 
human  mode  of  warfare  we  havs  described,  and 
the  next  step  was  soon  to  follow. 


CHAPTEE  XXIX. 

JM»  SECOND   BATTLE   OF  MANASSAS   OB  BULL   BUN. 

GENKEAL  POPE'S  reign  of  plunder  and  persecu 
tion  was  of  short  duration,  as  was  also  his  insolent 
boasting.  He  had  been  reinforced  by  a  consider 
able  portion  of  Mc'Clellan's  army,  and  had  cer 
tainly  men  enough  under  his  command,  if  he  had 
possessed  the  skill  to  handle  them.  But  unfor 
tunately  for  him  General  Lee  had  despatched 
Stonewall  Jackson  to  look  after  him. 

When  Jackson's  force  left  Kichmond  for  the 
Rappahannock  again,  which  had  already  been  the 
scene  of  so  many  of  his  victories,  some  of  the  Con 
federate  officers  sarcastically  said:  "Lee's  short 
of  rations  again !  Jackson's  detailed  to  go  to  the 
commissary  I"  By  the  "  commissary"  was  meant 
General  Banks,  for  Jackson  for  some  time  sup 
ported  his  army  off  of  stores  taken  from  that  gen 
eral.  Hence  Banks  was  called  "Jackson's  com 
missary,"  by  the  Confederate  soldiers. 

And  it  so  happened  that,  in  this  new  campaign, 
Jackson  first  struck  that  portion  of  Pope's  army 
which  was  stationed  under  Banks,  at  a  place 
known  as  Cedar  Mountain.  A  battle  took  place 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  9th  of  August,  which,  after 
a  fierce  fight,  resulted  in  the  total  defeat  and  rout 


SECOND  BATTLE  OF  MAN  ASS  AS.       229 

of  the  Federals,  who,  however,  were  not  followed 
more  than  two  miles  when  Jackson  ordered  a  halt 
for  the  night. 

Jackson's  force  in  this  battle  was  8,000.  That 
of  the  Federal  general  was  15,000.  The  Confed 
erates  lost  six  hundred  killed,  wounded,  and  miss 
ing,  while  the  Federals  lost  about  two  thousand. 
Jackson  captured  five  hundred  prisoners,  fifteen 
hundred  stand  of  arms,  two  Napoleon  guns,  twelve 
wagon  loads  of  ammunition,  and  several  wagon 
loads  of  new  clothing.  It  was  quite  true  that  Banks 
had  been  acting  as  Jackson's  commissary  again. 

General  Pope,  who  had  boasted  that  he  should 
make  his  head-quarters  in  his  saddle,  was  com 
pletely  out-manoeuvred  and  entrapped  every  way. 
One  night  General  Stuart  swept  round  his  camp 
and  burned  it,  capturing  three  hundred  prisoners, 
and  very  nearly  captured  Pope  himself.  All  of 
his  public  and  private  papers  fell  into  Stuart's 
hands,  not  even  excepting  his  coat  and  panta 
loons. 

I  forgot  to  mention  that  in  the  battle  of  Cedar 
Mountain,  that  Jackson's  victory  was  not  gained 
without  a  great  and  irreparable  loss,  in  the  death 
of  General  Charles  H.  Winder,  who  was  one  of 
the  bravest  and  most  gallant  men  in  the  Confed 
erate  army. 

The  next  heard  of  Stonewall  Jackson  after  the 
battle  of  Cedar  Mountain,  was  that,  with  a  force  of 
20,000  men,  he  was  far  up  the  valley  towards  the 
head-waters  of  the  Eappahannock  Eiver,  where  he 
had  been  sent  by  Lee  on  one  of  the  most  adven- 


230  SECOND   RATTLE    OF    MAN  ASS  AS. 

turous  if  not  dangerous  undertakings  of  the  whole 
war.  The  object  was  to  actually  get  in  the  rear  of 
Pope's  army,  cut  off  his  communications,  and  de 
stroy  his  stores.  The  danger  of  this  experiment 
was  that  it  would  place  Jackson's  army  between 
two  great  Federal  armies,  Pope's  on  one  side,  and 
that  of  the  immediate  defences  of  Washington  on 
the  other.  This  very  plan  shows  that  Lee  held 
the  generalship  of  both  Halleck  and  Pope  in  great 
contempt. 

Jackson's  army  was  marched  with  such  secrecy 
and  rapidity  that  his  own  officers  could  not  com 
prehend  the  nature  of  the  movement.  "  Said  one 
of  these  :  "  Let  us  look  facts  fully  in  the  face. 
Here  we  are  marching  in  the  rear  of  an  enemy 
more  powerful  than  ourselves,  far  from  all  sup 
ports,  liable  to  be  broken  up  by  superior  numbers 
from  Washington,  on  the  one  hand,  or  literally  an 
nihilated  should  Pope  face  about."  Another  re 
plied  :  "  'Tis  just  like  him  ;  no  one  can  imagine 
what  he  is  about ;  it  was  so  in  the  valley  and  else 
where —  plenty  of  marching  and  fighting,  and 
mighty  little  to  eat,  except  what  we  chanced  to 
capture."  Keplied  a  third :  "  As  to  rations,  I 
know  not  what  we  shall  do  ;  we  are  on  half  allow 
ance  now,  and  to-morrow  we  shall  have  to  fast  and 
fight  as  usual.  I  heard  that  the  commissary-gen 
eral  spoke  to  Jackson  about  it,  but  he  simply  re 
plied,  '  don't  trouble  yourself,  the  enemy  have  a 
superabundance — their  depots  are  not  far  ahead.'" 

Events  proved  that  Jackson's  estimate  for  abun 
dance  to  eat  was  right,  for  a  few  hours'  march 


SECOND    BATTLE    OF   MANASSAS.  231 

brought  his  army  to  a  place  called  Bristol's  Station, 
which  was  the  first  railroad  depot  connecting  with 
Pope's  rear.  On  the  sudden  appearance  of  the 
Confederates,  Pope's  guards  escaped  towards  Man- 
assas,  and  spread  the  alarm.  Manassas  was  an 
immense  depot  of  Federal  stores  of  all  descrip 
tions.  In  a  few  hours  Jackson's  army  was  luxu 
riating  in  this  vast  depot  of  abundance.  Every 
thing  was  captured  without  even  a  skirmish. 
Jackson  found  himself  in  possession  of  "  nine  can 
non,  seven  full  trains  heavily  laden  with  ah1  kinds 
of  stores,  ten  first-class  locomotives,  fifty-thousand 
pounds  of  bacon,  one  thousand  pounds  of  beef, 
two  thousand  barrels  of  pork,  five  thousand  bar 
rels  of  superfine  flour,  vast  quantities  of  hay,  oats, 
corn,  thirty  thousand  loaves  of  bread,  an  immense 
amount  of  hard  bread,  and  all  lands  of  ammuni 
tion,  etc." 

The  telegraph  was  found  to  be  in  good  working 
condition,  and  the  rejoicing  Confederates  tele 
graphed  to  Alexandria,  which  was  the  largest  Fed 
eral  depot  of  war  stores,  calling  for  an  immediate 
supply  of  artillery  and  wagon  harnesses,  with  other 
like  things  which  the  Confederates  most  needed. 
The  Federal  commandant,  having  no  suspicion 
that  fche  despatch  was  from  Stonewall  Jackson's 
men,  sent  forward  a  heavily  laden  train,  with  all 
the  articles  called  for,  and  these  all  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Confederates. 

All  this  mischief  had  been  done  by  Stonewall 
Jackson,  when  Pope  had  no  suspicion  that  he  was 
within  sixty  miles  of  the  place.  In  the  mean  tiwae 


232        SECOND  BATTLE  OF  MANASSAS. 

* 

General  Lee  was  hurrying  the  march  of  the  main 
body  of  his  army  to  support  the  new  position 
gained  by  his  advance,  under  General  Jackson,  on 
the  very  spot  at  Manassas,  where  the  first  great 
battle  of  the  war  had  taken  place  two  years 
before. 

General  Pope  also  had  been  aroused  to  the  true 
state  of  things,  and  at  once  hurried  forward  his 
whole  force  to  the  same  point.  In  a  characteristic 
bombastic  speech  to  his  army,  he  boasted  that  he 
should  "  bag  Jackson  this  time  !" 

Jackson  had  made  the  best  of  the  brief  time  in 
throwing  up  defensive  works,  and  preparing  for 
the  fierce  conflict  which  he  knew  must  soon  come. 
It  was  no  part  of  his  plan  to  retreat,  and  indeed  it 
was  Lee's  instruction  for  him  to  keep  his  position 
until  he  should  arrive  with  the  main  army. 

On  Wednesday,  the  27th  of  August,  1862,  a  por 
tion  of  Pope's  advance,  without  knowing,  came 
within  reach  of  Jackson's  guns  at  Manassas  Junc 
tion,  and  was  driven  back  in  confusion.  All  the 
next  day  Pope's  army  was  pouring  around  him. 
That  night  Jackson  removed  his  whole  force  from 
Manassas  Station  to  the  old  battle-field  of  Man 
assas,  where  he  was  a  little  nearer  to  Longstreet's 
division,  which  he  knew  to  be  approaching  in  the 
direction  of  Thoroughfare  Gap,  and  where  he 
would  also  have  a  better  position  for  either  attack 
or  defence.  There  was  skirmishing  and  a  good 
deal  of  pretty  serious  fighting,  all  day  Friday, 
August  29th,  but  the  decisive  battle  did  not  take 
place  until  Saturday  morning.  Lee's  whole  army 


SECOND    BATTLE    OF    MANASSAS.  238 

had  arrived  and  was  in  position  for  another  terrible 
battle  on  the  old  blood-stained  field  of  Manassas. 

General  Pope  threw  forward  a  heavy  force  upon 
Lee's  right,  when  that  wily  commander  at  once  fell 
back  with  that  portion  of  his  army  for  the  purpose 
of  leading  General  Pope  to  suppose  that  he  was 
retreating.  The  shallow  Pope  fell  into  the  trap, 
and  in  his  great  joy,  telegraphed  to  Washington 
that  Lee  was  "  retreating  to  the  mountains."  The 
news  was  flashed  all  over  the  North,  and  the  bul 
letins  of  the  newspapers  were  blazing  with  tidings 
of  a  great  victory  won  by  Pope  over  Lee. 

In  the  meantime  Pope  drove  forward  what  he 
supposed  to  be  a  pursuit  of  the  flying  Confed 
erates  ;  but,  as  the  result  proved,  drove  his  own 
army  into  the  jaws  of  destruction.  He  had  gone 
in  this  pursuit  but  a  short  distance,  when  he  met 
the  most  deadly  fire  from  nearly  all  Lee's  artillery, 
which  was  concealed  in  the  forest.  Instead  of  re 
treating,  Lee  had  simply  withdrawn  his  left  flank, 
while  his  right  remained  intact,  and  therefore  the 
commencement  of  General  Pope's  pursuit  was 
really  the  beginning  of  the  most  dreadful  and  de 
cisive  battle  of  the  campaign.  The  conflict  was 
bloody  but  short.  It  was  Bull  Run  over  again. 
Speaking  of  the  way  the  Confederates  fought,  a 
Northern  correspondent  says  :  "  They  came  on 
like  demons  emerging  from  the  earth."  The  Fed 
eral  army  was  not  only  defeated — it  was  routed, 
and  the  disorganized  mass  of  soldiers  had  to  trust 
for  safety  to  their  own  heels  or  horses. 

General  Pope  did  not  stop  his  flight  until  he  was 


234  SECOND   BATTLE    OP    MANASSAS. 

safe  within  the  defences  of  Washington.  A  cor 
respondent  in  his  army  for  a  Baltimore  paper  put 
his  loss  at  32,000  men,  killed,  wounded  and  missing 
Lee  paroled  9,000  prisoners. 

Thus  ended  poor  Pope.  Never  did  a  man  set 
out  with  so  much  bombast  and  swagger,  and  never 
did  any  man  fall  so  fast  and  so  low.  Even  the 
brutal  school  of  abolitionists  who  had  placed  such 
hopes  in  him,  and  who  had  rejoiced  so  much  at 
his  inhuman  programme  for  the  war,  were  heartily 
ashamed  of  him.  He  fell  to  rise  no  more.  He  is 
to  this  day  the  laughing-stock  of  men. 


CHAPTEE  XXX. 

LEE  IN   MABYLAND — BATTLE   OF  ANTIETAM. 

WITH  the  ridiculous  failure  of  General  Pope,  the 
"Army  of  Virginia"  which  had  been  created  to 
blot  out  "  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,"  passed  out 
of  existence,  and  the  old  name  of  "  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac"  was  a  power  again,  and  McClellan 
was  reinstated  in  command. 

It  was  a  bitter  pill  for  the  Administration  to 
take,  to  put  forward  General  McClellan,  after  they 
had  so  publicly  insulted  and  belittled  him.  But 
the  cry  of  "Washington  is  in  danger  1"  was  rever 
berating  over  the  North.  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his 
Cabinet  were  trembling  with  fear.  And  it  was 
seen  that  the  army  demanded  McClellan  again. 

For  although  he  had  not,  at  this  time,  been  form 
ally  removed,  he  had  been  put  under  a  cloud,  a  fact 
which  caused  a  universal  discontent,  in  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  especially.  Indeed,  there  was  no 
alternative  for  Lincoln  but  to  reinstate  McClellan. 
Virginia  had  been  cleared  of  Federal  troops,  and 
Lee  was  preparing  to  march  into  Maryland,  with 
a  view  of  pushing  his  army  into  Pennsylvania. 
Tho  result  of  Pope's  campaign  had  really  been  to 
put  the  Administration  at  Washington  completely 
on  the  defensive. 


236  LEE   IN   MARYLAND. 

On  the  fourth  day  of  September,  General  Lee 
actually  crossed  the  Potomac  River,  into  the  State 
of  Maryland. 

Whether  General  Lee  had  any  object  in  this 
movement  further  than  to  possess  himself  of  the  im 
mense  Federal  army  stores  at  Harper's  Ferry,  and  to 
replenish  his  commissary  department  generally,  is 
very  doubtful.  Lee  invaded  Maryland  with  three 
army  corps,  commanded  respectively  by  Generals 
Jackson,  Longstreet,  and  Hill. 

Jackson  was  to  march  directly  for  Harper's 
Ferry,  while  Hill  and  Longstreet  were  entrusted 
with  the  responsibility  of  watching  and  holding  in 
check  General  McClellan  in  any  effort  he  might 
make  to  protect  the  Federal  force  at  Harper's 
Ferry. 

General  McClellan  had  only  been  reinvested 
with  command  twelve  days  when  this  movement 
on  Lee's  part  was  made.  To  keep  McClellan  from 
reaching  Harper's  Ferry,  Longstreet  was  directed 
to  march  directly  to  Hagerstown,  in  Maryland,  and 
there  to  wait  until  McClellan's  movements  should 
develop.  Immediately  General  McClellan  moved 
his  entire  force  in  the  direction  of  the  mountains 
which  Lee  suspected  he  would,  and  to  provide  for 
which  Lee  sent  General  D.  H.  Hill  to  check  him. 
Hill's  instructions  were  to  hold  a  certain  point  at 
all  hazards  until  Jackson  had  reached  Harper's 
Ferry.  That  point  is  known  as  Boonsboro'  Gap. 

At  this  place  a  severe  battle  occurred.  At  first 
the  Confederates,  being  greatly  outnumbered,  were 
being  terribly  pressed,  and  the  Confederate  Gen- 


LEE   IN    MARYLAND.  237 

eral  Garland  was  killed,  but  at  length  reinforce 
ments  arrived  under  General  Longstreet,  and  the 
fighting  was  desperate  on  both  sides.  When  night 
shut  down  upon  the  bloody  scene  the  two  opposing 
armies  occupied  the  same  position  they  did  in  the 
morning  at  the  opening  of  the  battle. 

But  the  Confederates  had  gained  their  object, 
which  was  to  prevent  reinforcements  from  reaching 
Harper's  Ferry. 

While  the  battle  was  progressing  at  Boonsboro' 
Gap,  General  Jackson  was  capturing  Harper's 
Ferry.  During  the  night  he  placed  his  heaviest 
guns  in  position,  and  in  the  morning  opened  upon 
the  place  from  all  directions.  At  half  past  seven, 
A.  M.,  the  place  surrendered.  The  Federal  com 
mander,  Colonel  Miles,  had  one  of  his  hips  shot 
away  in  the  engagement. 

Jackson  took  twelve  thousand  troops,  twelve 
thousand  stand  of  arms,  seventy-three  pieces  of 
artillery,  and  over  two  hundred  wagons.  This 
surrender  took  place  on  the  14th  of  September. 
General  Lee,  perceiving  that  McClellan  was  mass 
ing  his  whole  force,  united  his  army  as  far  as 
practicable  at  a  point  near  Sharpsburg,  about 
eight  miles  to  the  west  of  Boonsboro'  Gap.  At 
this  place  occurred,  on  the  17th  of  September,  the 
memorable  battle  of  Antietam,  which  takes  its 
name  from  the  beautiful  valley  where  it  was  fought. 
General  Lee  was  strongly  posted,  but  he  had 
not  over  forty-five  thousand  men,  while  the  Fed 
eral  army  numbered  nearly  a  hundred  thousand, 
McClellan  commanded  in  person,  while  under  him 


238  BATTLE   OF   ANTIETAM. 

were  Generals  Burnside,  Porter,  Hooker,  Sumner, 
Franklin,  Meade,  Sedgwick,  and  Pleasanton,  com 
mander  of  cavalry. 

The  battle  was  opened  by  an  assault  upon  Lee's 
left  which  was  held  by  Stonewall  Jackson.  Hooker 
led  the  attack  with  eighteen  thousand  men  well 
posted  in  the  high  grounds  where  Jackson  lay  with 
a  force  of  only  four  thousand.  In  that  day's  terrible 
fight  nearly  one  half  of  these  brave  fellows  were 
left  dead  upon  the  field  of  slaughter.  The  whole 
force  of  both  armies  was  soon  at  work  in  one  of 
the  fiercest  conflicts  that  occurred  during  the  war. 
The  very  earth  shook  all  day  with  the  terrible 
shock  of  battle.  The  tide  of  success  was  now  with 
one  side,  and  now  witfs  the  other,  until  each  must 
have  welcomed  the  friendly  night  which  put  a  stop 
to  the  horrible  slaughter. 

The  Federal  historian  of  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
maCj  Swinton,  admits  that  the  fortunes  of  this  day's 
dreadful  fighting  were  rather  with  the  Confeder 
ates,  notwithstanding  the  vast  disproportion  of 
numbers,  and  his  opinion  is  sufficiently  sustained 
by  the  fact  that  during  the  night,  McClellan  dis 
appeared  from  the  front,  leaving  his  dead  unburied 
on  the  sanguinary  field  where  they  had  poured  out 
their  blood  so  heroically. 

The  loss  of  the  Federals  in  this  battle  was,  in 
tilled  and  wounded,  twelve  thousand  five  hundred 
men.  That  of  the  Confederates  was  over  eight 
thousand.  All  day  of  the  18th  of  September,  both 
armies  were  too  much  exhausted  to  renew  the 
deadly  strife.  And  during  the  night  of  that  day 


BATTLE    OF    ANTIETAM.  239 

General  Lee  withdrew  across  the  Potomac,  with 
out  an  effort  on  the  part  of  McClellan  to  prevent 
him.  On  the  20th  General  McClellan  commenced 
to  cross  the  river  into  Virginia,  but  no  sooner  was 
one  column  across  than  it  was  badly  repulsed  and 
driven  back  into  the  river  by  General  A.  P.  Hill. 

Thus  ended  all  attempts  to  follow  up  Lee,  with 
the  immense  stores  he  had  gained  by  his  brief 
campaign  in  Maryland.  Of  Lee's  return  to  Vir 
ginia,  an  abolition  paper  bitterly  said  :  "  He  leaves 
us  the  debris  of  his  late  camps,  two  disabled 
pieces  of  artillery,  a  few  hundred  of  his  stragglers, 
perhaps  two  thousand  of  his  wounded,  and  as 
many  more  of  his  unburied  dead.  Not  a  sound 
field-piece,  caisson,  ambulance,  or  wagon,  not  a 
tent,  a  box  of  stores,  or  a  pound  of  ammunition. 
He  takes  with  him  the  supplies  gathered  in  Mary 
land,  and  the  rich  spoils  of  Harper's  Ferry." 

If  General  Lee's  intention  in  passing  into  Mary 
land  was  simply  to  gather  supplies,  his  campaign 
was  a  great  success  ;  but  if,  as  was  and  is  gen 
erally  believed,  he  meant  to  make  a  stand  on  that 
side  of  the  Potomac,  as  a  base  of  operations  against 
the  North,  then  he  signally  failed.  For  the  battles 
which  McClellan  had  delivered  against  him,  though 
not  victories,  had  caused  him  to  recross  into  Vir 
ginia,  and  give  up  the  invasion  of  the  North. 

But  the  campaign  cost  McClellan  his  command. 
The  abolition  leaders,  who  were  but  too  glad  of  an 
opportunity  to  destroy  him,  seized  upon  the  fact 
that  Lee,  with  his  inferior  force,  had  done  so  nnich 
damage,  and  escaped  safely  back  into  Virginia* 
17 


240  BATTLE   OP  ANTIETAM. 

One  day,  while  McClellan  was  sitting  in  his  tent  at 
Beckertown,  conversing  with  General  Burnside, 
he  received  the  following  despatch  from  Washing 
ton  : 

"  General  Order,  No.  182. 

"WAR  DEPARTMENT,  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S  OFFICE, 
"WASHINGTON,  Nov.  5th,  1862. 

"By  direction  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  it  is  ordered  that  Major-General  McClellan 
be  relieved  from  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Po 
tomac,  and  that  Major-General  Burnside  take  the 
command  of  that  army. 

"By  order  of  the  Secretary  of  War." 

General  McClellan  coldly  read  the  dispatch,  and, 
handing  it  to  Burnside,  said  :  "  Well,  Burnside, 
you  are  to  command  the  army." 

Thus  ended  General  McClellan's  military  career 
in  the  great  abolition  war. 

Just  previous  to  the  removal  of  General  McClel 
lan  on  the  22d  of  September,  Mr.  Lincoln  had 
issued  what  he  called  his  "preliminary  Proclama 
tion  of  Emancipation,"  that  is,  he  announced  that 
if  "  the  rebels,"  as  he  called  them,  did  not  submit 
on  or  before  the  1st  day  of  January,  1863,  he  would 
issue  an  edict,  "  freeing  all  their  slaves,  and  would 
pledge  the  Government  to  maintain  that  freedom." 
Of  course  Mr.  Lincoln  had  no  more  right  to  do  all 
this  than  he  had  to  issue  a  decree  making  himself 
Dictator  for  life.  I  have  shown  you  on  page  136 
how  solemnly  he  declared  that  the  war  was  prose- 


BATTLE    OF    ANTIETAM.  241 

cuted  "  to  preserve  the  rights  of  the  States/'  and 
now  when  only  a  year  had  elapsed,  he  completely 
falsifies  his  own  word. 

No  man  ever  lost  such  a  glorious  chance  for  im 
mortality  as  General  McClellan  did,  when  he  did 
not  resign  his  commission  in  the  army  upon  this 
announcement  being  made.  Thousands  of  brave 
and  gallant  boys  had  enlisted  under  the  solemn 
promise  first  made  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  if  General 
McClellan  had  set  an  example  of  resigning,  it 
would  probably  have  produced  such  an  effect  in 
the  army  that  the  abolitionists  would  have  been 
compelled  to  withdraw  it.  If  they  had  been  thus 
forced  to  give  up  their  negro  freedom  idea,  we 
should  soon  have  had  peace,  for  they  would  never 
have  prosecuted  the  war  for  any  other  purpose. 

General  McClellan,  however,  did  not  resign. 
Yet  the  effect  of  the  proclamation  in  the  army 
was  very  great.  We  shall  refer  to  it  in  another 
chapter. 

After  the  battle  of  Antietam  Mr.  Lincoln  had 
visited  the  battle-field,  and  an  incident,  entirely 
authentic,  is  related,  showing  with  what  levity  and 
indifference  he  viewed  the  scene  of  the  dreadful 
carnage  and  slaughter. 

"  There,"  said  McClellan,  who  was  riding  by  his 
side,  "  we  buried  eight  hundred  gallant  and  noble 
fellows." 

Mr.  Lincoln,  scarcely  glancing  at  the  spot,  ex 
claimed, 

"  Mac,  did  you  ever  hear  Ma/or  P.  sing  Old  Dan 
Tucker?" 


242  BATTLE    OF   ANTIETAM. 

The  general  shook  his  head  in  evident  sorrow  at 
such  desecration  of  the  newly-made  graves  about 
him,  when  Mr.  Lincoln,  calling  to  Major  P.,  who 
was  riding  a  few  rods  in  the  rear,  insisted  that  he 
should  sing  "  Old  Dan  Tucker"  for  General  McCleL 
Ian,  and  it  was  done. 

If  this  statement  was  not  authenticated  beyond 
doubt,  I  should  hesitate  to  put  it  in  here,  for  never 
before  over  the  fresh  graves  of  a  battle-field  did 
one  whose  heart  ought  to  have  wept  tears  of  blood, 
indulge  in  such  unfeeling,  such  unhcly  jests. 


CHAPTEK  XXXI. 

BLOODY   DOINGS   IN   THE  WEST. 

IT  is  necessary  to  go  back  a  little  to  give  some 
account  of  the  way  the  war  was  progressing  in  the 
West 

On  the  very  day  when  Lee  won  the  great  victory 
at  the  second  battle  of  Manassas,  there  was  a  bat 
tle  going  on  at  Bichmond,  in  the  State  of  Ken 
tucky.  The  abolition  government  at  Washington 
had  never  relaxed  any  of  its  energy  in  that  section. 
Indeed  its  military  movements  in  that  section  were 
quite  equal  to  those  in  Virginia  in  magnitude. 
The  stupendous  project  had  already  been  formed 
of  driving  out  the  Confederate  forces  from  Ken 
tucky,  Tennessee,  and  all  the  States  west  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  then  of  cutting  down  through  the 
Gulf  States  into  the  very  heart  of  the  South. 
Grant  was  "  pegging  away,"  as  Mr.  Lincoln  would 
say,  in  Mississippi,  McClernand  and  Buell  in  Ken 
tucky  and  Tennessee,  while  there  was  another 
Federal  army  operating  in  Missouri  and  Arkansas. 

It  was  necessary  for  the  Confederate  Govern 
ment  to  do  something  to  distract  the  plans  which 
were  gradually  ripening  for  the  subjugation  of 
these  more  Southern  States.  The  scheme  hit  upon 
was  to  make  some  bold  raids  through  Kentucky, 


244  BLOODY   DOINGS    IN  THE   WEST. 

and  threaten  Cincinnati  and  the  State  of  Ohio,  for 
the  purpose  of  dividing  the  strength  of  the  Fed 
erals,  which  was  setting  so  strongly  South. 

Early  in  the  month  of  August,  the  Confederate 
commander  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  General 
Kirby  Smith,  ordered  a  strong  force  to  move 
northward,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the 
scheme  above  stated.  On  the  29th  of  August  it 
reached  the  little  town  of  Richmond,  where  lay  a 
considerable  Federal  force  under  General  Nelson. 
A  severe  battle  followed,  in  which  the  abolition 
army  in  that  region  was  quite  as  badly  whipped 
as  it  was  at  Manassas  in  Virginia  the  same  day. 

This  defeat  of  Nelson  at  Richmond  left  General 
Smith  a  clear  track  through  Kentucky  to  Lexing 
ton,  at  which  city  he  arrived  on  the  4th  day  of 
September.  As  his  army  passed  through  Lexing 
ton  it  received  the  wildest  display  of  welcome, 
especially  from  the  ladies.  The  rule  of  the  aboli 
tion  commanders  in  that  region  had  been  brutal 
in  the  extreme,  and  Smith's  presence  was  therefore 
hailed  as  a  sign  of  protection  and  safety  from  fur 
ther  outrage.  When  General  John  Morgan's  cav 
alry,  which  was  in  Smith's  command,  reached  the 
city,  it  is  said  that  the  demonstrations  of  welcome 
were  perfectly  deafening.  In  that  place  this  gal 
lant  officer  was  again  in  the  presence  of  his  own 
neighbors  and  friends. 

When  it  became  known  in  Cincinnati  that  Gen 
eral  Smith  had  won  the  battle  of  Richmond  and 
penetrated  as  far  towards  the  Ohio  line  as  Lex 
ington,  the  people  of  that  city  were  wild  with  fear. 


BLOODY   DOINGS    IN   THE    WEST.  245 

The  whole  city  instantly  became  a  camp.  People 
going  from  their  houses  to  their  places  of  business, 
or  from  their  places  of  business  home  to  their 
meals,  were  seized  by  the  abolition  officers  and 
pressed  into  the  army. 

At  the  same  time  that  General  Smith  entered 
the  State  of  Kentucky  from  the  line  of  Richmond, 
General  Bragg  came  into  the  State  with  another 
Confederate  army  in  a  more  easterly  direction, 
from  Knoxville  and  Chattanooga.  But  General 
Smith's  orders  in  marching  so  near  to  the  Ohio 
line  were  to  menace,  not  to  attack.  After  making 
this  demonstration  he  was  to  fall  back  to  co-oper 
ate  with  Bragg's  army. 

This  cunning  demonstration  of  the  Confederates 
in  Kentucky  had  the  desired  effect.  It  caused  the 
Federals  to  evacuate  East  Tennessee  and  North 
ern  Alabama. 

On  the  17th  of  September,  General  Bragg  fell 
upon  a  force  of  abolitionists  at  Mumfordville,  and 
captured  about  five  thousand  prisoners,  with  a  loss 
of  less  than  a  hundred  of  his  own  men.  On  the 
8th  of  October  he  had  a  severe  battle  with  nearly 
the  whole  Federal  army  in  Kentucky,  at  Perry- 
ville,  which  was  not  a  decided  victory  to  either 
side,  though  Bragg  claimed  a  victory.  He  cap 
tured  fifteen  pieces  of  artillery  and  took  a  large 
number  of  prisoners.  But  his  mistake  was  in  risk 
ing  the  battle  at  all  with  only  part  of  his  own 
army,  for  the  commands  of  neither  General  Smith 
nor  that  of  General  Withers  were  with  him  at  the 
time. 


246  BLOODY    DOINGS    IN   THE    WEST. 

Ascertaining  that  the  Federals  had  been  rein 
forced  during  the  night,  General  Bragg  withdrew 
early  the  next  morning  to  Harrodsburg,  where  he 
met  Generals  Smith  and  Withers. 

While  Bragg  was  thus  backing  and  filling,  and 
losing  his  opportunity,  General  BuelTs  army  was 
swelling  to  dimensions  so  far  beyond  that  of  the 
Confederates  that  it  became  evident  that  he  must 
beat  a  retreat. 

This  he  commenced  on  the  12th  of  October,  car 
rying  with  him  an  immense  amount  of  stores  and 
munitions  of  war.  It  was  painful  to  witness  the  dis 
may  of  the  Democrats  and  better  sort  of  people  of 
the  region  round  about  Lexington,  when  they  saw 
that  they  should  no  longer  enjoy  the  protection  of 
the  Confederate  army.  Women  and  children  were 
everywhere  seen  crying  and  wringing  their  hands. 
They  declared  that  they  preferred  to  die  rather 
than  again  be  subjected  to  the  brutality  and  cruelty 
of  the  abolitionists. 

Thus  ended  that  Confederate  campaign  in  Ken 
tucky.  Though  it  had  done  some  gallant  fighting 
and  won  no  mean  victories,  yet  it  was  nearly  fruit 
less  of  the  great  advantages  it  might  have  won  had 
General  Bragg  pushed  his  opportunity  as  Stone 
wall  Jackson,  and  other  Confederate  commanders, 
would,  no  doubt,  have  done. 

The  people  of  Kentucky  were  in  a  strangely  di 
vided  and  unhappy  condition  during  the  whole 
war.  Men  like  George  D.  Prentice,  the  editor 
of  the  Louisville  Journal,  a  prominent  paper  in 
that  State,  took  strong  sides  with  the  abolitionists. 


BLOODY   DOINGS   IN   THE   WEST.  247 

While  professing  to  hate  abolitionism,  they  threw 
all  their  influence  in  its  favor,  and  gave  the  strong 
est  support  to  a  man  who  had  no  other  object  but 
the  abolition  of  "  slavery,"  and  the  subversion  of 
the  democratic  form  of  government  established  b 
the  great  men  of  the  Revolution. 

While  the  events  above  described  were  taking 
place  in  Kentucky,  active  scenes  were  transpiring 
further  South.  General  Eosecrans,  a  Federal 
commander  of  what  was  called  the  Army  of  the  Mis 
sissippi  and  Tennessee,  was  entrenched,  with  forty- 
five  thousand  men,  at  Corinth.  The  Confederate 
commands  of  G-enerals  Van  Dorn  and  Price  united 
and  marched  to  Corinth,  for  the  purpose  of  en 
gaging  Eosecrans.  It  was  a  desperate  and  fool 
hardy  undertaking,  to  attack  an  entrenched  army 
so  greatly  superior  in  numbers.  The  Confederate 
forces  were  under  the  command  of  General  Van 
Dorn.  The  battle  was  opened  on  Friday  morning, 
October  3d,  1862.  Under  General  Van  Dorn  were 
Generals  Price,  Lovell,  Maury,  and  Herbert.  Van 
Dom's  assault  was  made  with  tremendous  power, 
The  Federals  were  pushed  slowly  back  for  nearly 
two  hours  under  the  admirably  handled  batteries 
of  General  LovelTs  corps. 

But  Eosecrans  had  been  driven  into  his  fortifi 
cations.  Still  the  Confederates  drove  him  beyond 
his  first  line  of  fortifications,  back  within  his  sec 
ond.  This  was  the  condition  of  the  two  armies 
when  night  put  a  stop  to  the  fearful  carnage. 
Van  Dorn  was  elated,  and  telegraphed  to  Eich- 
mond  that  he  had  gained  a  great  victory.  But  he 
not,  vpf  fhtt  fltrancrth  of  Eosecrans'  works. 


248  BLOODY    DOINGS   IN   THE   WEST. 

The  next  morning  before  daylight  (General  Van 
Born  still  commanding),  General  Price  com 
menced  firing  with  his  artillery,  at  a  distance  of 
only  four  hundred  yards  in  front  of  the  enemy's 
Bntrenchments.  Soon  Lovell,  Price,  Maury,  and 
Herbert  were  all  hotly  at  work.  The  Confederates 
fought  with  the  same  desperation  they  had  dis 
played  the  previous  day,  but  it  was  a  useless  strug 
gle.  After  performing  prodigies  of  valor,  and  after 
a  horrible  slaughter  of  some  of  the  bravest  men 
that  ever  entered  a  battle-field,  Van'  Dorn  ordered 
his  troops  to  fall  back.  But  this  order  was  not 
given  until  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  From 
daylight  to  this  hour  he  had  kept  his  little  army  in 
one  of  the  fiercest  and  most  unequal  combats  ever 
witnessed.  But  when  he  gave  up  and  fell  back, 
Eosecrans  made  no  attempt  to  follow  him,  which 
showed  that  he,  too,  had  had  enough  of  fighting 
for  the  time. 

While  these  bloody  scenes  were  being  enacted 
in  Tennessee,  the  northwestern  portion  of  the 
State  of  Missouri  was  the  theatre  of  the  most  hor 
rible  guerrilla  warfare.  Under  the  despotic  rule 
of  the  Lincoln  General  Schofield,  and  the  murder 
ous  cruelties  of  an  infamous  scoundrel  by  the 
name  of  Colonel  McNeil,  the  people  of  that  section 
had  been  goaded  into  uncontrollable  madness. 

One  act,  of  the  many  atrocities  of  McNeil,  will 
forever  stamp  his  name  as  one  of  the  most  har 
dened  wretches  that  ever  lived.  A  so-called  Union 
man  by  the  name  of  Andrew  Allsman  was  missing. 
McNeil  issued  an  order  that  unless  Allsman  waa 


BLOODY    DOINGS    IN    THE    WEST.  249 

found  in  ten  days  he  would  shoot  ten  Confederate 
prisoners.  The  ten  days  elapsed  and  Allsman  was 
not  found.  In  vain  the  citizens  and  the  Confeder 
ates  protested  that  they  had  not  harmed  him,  and 
knew  nothing  of  his  whereabouts.  But  McNeil 
was  determined  to  have  a  feast  of  innocent  blood. 
So  he  took  ten  innocent  citizens  of  Missouri  to 
slake  his  cannibal  appetite.  In  vain  did  their 
wives  and  friends  plead  !  The  ten  men  were  inhu 
manly  slaughtered  as  a  revenge  for  the  absence  of 
the  one  man  Allsman.  Afterwards  the  man  Alls 
man  turned  up  alive  and  well ! 

He  had  been  absent  of  his  own  will  and  motion. 
But  the  ten  innocent  men  were  in  their  graves,  as 
an  everlasting  monument  of  the  infamous  cruelty 
and  butchery  of  abolition  rule  in  Missouri. 

This  wretch  McNeil,  it  is  said,  is  still  living  and 
is  now  one  of  the  leading  spirits  of  the  Abolition 
party  in  the  State  of  Missouri.  He  is  a  fit  instru 
ment  of  the  abominable  despotism  of  the  aboli 
tionists  of  that  State,  where  clergymen,  who  refuse 
to  take  a  certain  illegal  and  ridiculous  oath,  are 
ruthlessly  dragged  out  of  their  pulpits,  and  in 
carcerated  in  dungeons,  or  forbidden,  under  the 
most  outrageous  penalties,  to  preach  the  Gospel 
of  Christ. 

When  these  scenes  are  rehearsed,  in  future 
times,  they  will  be  regarded  as  the  darkest  and 
bloodiest  events  that  disgrace  the  history  of  man 
kind.  They  have  already  caused  .the  name  of  the 
United  States  to  be  repeated  with  a  chill  of  horror 
throughout  the  civilized  world. 


CHAPTEE  XXXH. 

GENEKAL    BUBNSIDE's    BLOODY    CAMPAIGN. 

"WE  now  return  to  relate  the  progress  of  the  war 
in  Virginia.  After  it  was  known  that  Burnside 
had  succeeded  McClellan  in  the  command  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  the  abolition  press  struck  up 
the  old  cry  of  "  On  to  Ptichmond."  Burnside  was  the 
new  pet  of  the  hour.  All  at  once  the  Abolitionists 
discovered  that  he  was  just  the  man  for  the  occa 
sion.  Though  nobody  ever  imagined  that  Ambrose 
Burnside  was  anything  more  than  the  most  common 
of  common  place  mortals,  now  he  was  pushed  into 
notice  as  a  very  great  man.  We  shall  soon  see 
what  very  small  timber  is  sometimes  used  to  make 
great  men. 

On  taking  command  General  Burnside  at  once 
applied  himself  to  the  task  of  changing  the  base 
of  the  army  to  Fredericksburg,  on  the  Rappahan- 
nock  Eiver.  This  strange  movement  astonished 
the  authorities  at  Washington,  as  they  could  not 
possibly  see  the  object  of  it.  He,  however,  per 
suaded  them  that  he  had  discovered  the  true  plan 
to  defeat  Lee,  and  take  Richmond.  This  plan  was 
to  leave  a  small  force  to  make  a  show  of  crossing 
the  Rappahannock,  near  Warrenton,  as  a  feint  to 
deceive  Lee,  and  make  him  believe  that  the  Fed- 


GENEEAL   BURNSIDE'S   BLOODY   CAMPAIGN,      251 

eral  army  was  about  to  throw  itself  into  Virginia, 
and  then  by  a  rapid  march  to  throw  his  whole 
army  across  the  river  at  Fredericksburg.  This 
movement  General  Burnside  thought  would  catch 
Lee  in  a  trap.  Though  even  in  case  his  trick  were 
successful  nobody  but  the  cunning  Burnside  could 
see  the  trap.  The  idea  of  Ambrose  Burnside  at 
tempting  to  catch  Kobert  E.  Lee  in  a  trap  carries 
with  it  a  certain  amount  of  amusement. 

The  whole  nature  of  Burnside's  movement  was 
as  well  known  to  Lee  as  it  was  to  himself.  But 
the  Confederate  commander  did  effectually  deceive 
Burnside  by  making  him  believe  that  he  had  sent 
a  large  portion  of  his  forces  down  the  river. 

General  Burnside  commenced  throwing  his 
pontoon  bridges  across  the  Rappahannock  at 
Fredericksburg  on  the  night  of  the  10th  of  Decem 
ber.  The  whole  movement  was  visible  to  the  eye 
of  Lee's  troops  posted  on  the  bluff  which  over 
looked  the  whole  town  on  the  river. 

Lee  designedly  made  but  a  feeble  resistance  to 
Burnside's  crossing,  just  enough  to  impress  that 
weak  man  with  the  idea  that  none  but  a  small 
Confederate  force  was  in  his  front ;  for  Lee  was 
just  as  anxious  to  get  Burnside  on  his  side  of  the 
river  as  Burnside  was  to  get  there. 

The  whole  of  the  12th  day  of  December  was 
Dccupied  in  the  passage  of  Burnside's  army  across 
the  Rappahannock,  and  at  night  he  occupied 
Fredericksburg.  The  news  flashed  over  the  North 
of  Burnside's  great  victory  ;  he  had  successfully 
crossed  the  Rappahannock  and  had  taken  Fred- 


252     GENERAL   BUKNSLDE'S    BLOODY    CAMPAIGN. 

ericksburgl  The  abolitionists  and  their  sympa 
thizers  were  wild  with  joy.  It  was  said  that  "  the 
right  man  had  been  found  at  last."  Large  sums 
were  bet  that  Burnside  would  be  in  Richmond 
in  ten  days.  How  far  it  was  to  Eichmond, 
or  how  he  was  to  get  there,  were  questions  which 
they  did  not  think  upon.  Their  wild  imagination 
jumped  him  into  Richmond. 

Burnside  imagined  that  on  the  morning  of  the 
13th  of  December,  after  his  troops  had  enjoyed  so 
quiet  a  night  in  Eredericksburg,  he  should  make 
short  work  with  what  he  believed  to  be  the  fraction 
of  Lee's  army  before  him,  if  indeed  Lee  did  not  fly 
during  the  night.  He  little  comprehended  the  fact 
that  the  whole  of  Lee's  army  was  anxiously  waiting 
to  receive  him. 

The  sun  that  morning  rose  clear,  but  a  dense  fog 
hung  over  the  town  of  Fredericksburg  until  nearly 
nine  o'clock.  Lee's  men  on  the  bluffs  and  hills 
around  could  distinctly  hear  Burnside's  officers 
commanding  and  marching  their  men  about  in  the 
fog.  As  soon  as  this  foggy  veil  lifted,  Burnside 
ordered  his  men  to  attack.  Lee  at  first  returned 
the  fire  slowly  and  on  certain  points  of  his  line 
gradually  fell  back  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  Burn- 
side's  army  out  into  the  inevitable  jaws  of  death 
that  awaited  it.  Lee  was  personally  on  the  battle 
field  all  day.  When  the  firing  began  in  the  morn 
ing  he  might  have  been  seen  quietly  riding  along 
the  whole  front,  and  finally  taking  up  his  position 
on  the  extreme  right  of  his  lines,  where  Stuart's 
tiorse  artillery  was  posted,  and  which  was  already 


GENERAL    BUENSIDE'S   BLOODY    CAMPAIGN.      258 

hotly  at  work  with  Burnside's  left  flank,   com 
manded  by  General  Franklin. 

But  Bnrnside  was  himself  two  miles  from  the 
battle-field,  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  viewing 
the  scene  with  a  glass  from  the  top  of  the  "Phillip-- 
House." 

It  must  have  been  an  awful  sight  to  him,  for  his 
men  were  not  only  shot,  they  were  mowed  down. 
Every  charge  they  made  was  repulsed  with  the 
most  terrible  slaughter.  Actually  his  army  was 
not  so  much  fighting  as  being  murdered.  No  men 
ever  fought  more  gallantly,  and  no  brave  fellows 
were  ever  slaughtered  more  mercilessly  in  con 
sequence  of  the  stupidity  of  the  general  command 
ing.  Lee  had  so  placed  his  army  on  and  around 
those  heights  that  whichever  way  the  invaders 
turned  they  met  sure  destruction.  Lee's  whole 
force  was  only  eighty  thousand  men,  while  Burn- 
side's  army  numbered  one  hundred  and  fifty  thou 
sand  men.  But  had  it  been  three  hundred  thou 
sand  the  results  of  that  day's  battle  would  have 
been  the  same.  The  more  that  Burnside  saw  how 
his  attacks  were  repulsed,  the  more  determined  he 
seemed  to  be  that  his  men  should  be  slaughtered. 
Towards  night  he  became  so  irritated  that  no  one 
received  a  civil  answer  from  him. 

Nearly  all  of  his  division  commanders  were  able 
and  experienced  generals,  and  they  fought  with  a 
heroism  that  won  the  admiration  of  even  the 
enemy.  General  Hancock  led  five  thousand  men 
into  the  fight  in  the  morning,  and  before  it  closed 
he  had  lost  two  thousand  and  thirteen,  of  whom 


254      GENERAL   BUKNSmE'S   BLOOLY   CAMPAIGN. 

one  hundred  and  fifty-six  were  commissioned  offi 
cers.  Burnside's  total  loss  was  twelve  thousand 
three  hundred  and  twenty-one,  killed,  wounded, 
and  missing.  An  English  officer,  who  was  in  this 
battle  on  the  Confederate  side,  in  giving  a  descrip 
tion  of  it  says  :  "Our  total  loss  was  two  thousand." 
The  same  writer  says  :  "Again  and  again  were  the 
Federals  re-formed,  and  advance  succeeded  ad 
vance  as  fresh  regiments  rushed  over  heaps  of 
slain,  to  be  themselves  torn  in  an  instant  into  man 
gled  and  bleeding  shreds.  The  position  was  unas 
sailable — a  sheet  of  flame  streamed  across  our 
whole  front,  and  destroyed  everything  mortal  that 
approached  it.  The  sight  was  horrible.  It  was 
not  a  scientific  battle,  but  a  wholesale  slaughter  of 
human  beings  for  the  caprice  of  one  man  (Burn- 
side)  who,  two  miles  across  the  river,  sat  upon  the 
heights,  glass  in  hand,  complacently  viewing  the 
awful  panorama  below." 

Thus  ended  Burnside's  horrible  slaughter.  It 
ought  not  to  be  called  a  battle  on  his  part — it  was 
a  slaughter-pen.  This  new  road  to  Richmond  had 
ingloriously  terminated  in  a  grave-yard. 

For  two  days  Burnside's  mangled  and  bleeding 
army  lay  quiet  in  the  valley,  without  making  any 
attempt  to  renew  the  engagement.  It  has  been  a 
matter  of  surprise  that  Lee  did  not  follow  up  his 
victory  by  attempting  to  drive  the  Federal  army 
across  the  river,  by  which  he  might  have  captured 
a  considerable  portion  of  it,  had  the  attempt  been 
made  at  daylight  the  next  morning..  But  he  prob 
ably  supposed  that  it  was  Burnside's  intention  to 


GENERAL  BURNSIDE'S   BLOODY   CAMPAIGN.      258 

renew  the  fight,  in  which  case  he  expected  to  be 
able  to  pretty  nearly  annihilate  the  abolition  army, 
without  any  considerable  loss  of  his  own  men. 
This  saving  the  lives  of  his  men  seemed  always  to 
be  a  paramount  study  of  the  Confederate  com 
mander. 

But,  in  the  darkness  of  the  night  of  the  second 
day  after  the  slaughter,  Burnside  withdrew  hia 
whole  force  over  the  river,  and  was  safe  from  the 
reach  of  Lee.  In  one  day  he  had  won  an  immor 
tality  of  shame.  If  Pope  had  proved  himself  a 
failure,  Burnside  had  proved  himself  a  disgrace  to 
the  profession  of  arms. 

And  the  shocking  Vandalism  of  his  army  in 
Fredericksburg  proved  that  he  was  morally  as  de 
ficient  in  the  qualities  of  general  as  he  was  intel 
lectually.  The  town  was  literally  sacked  and  pil 
laged.  It  was  barbarously  destroyed.  Even  the 
churches  were  wantonly  defaced.  Arson,  robbery, 
the  insult  and  torture  of  women  and  children,  were 
the  only  monuments  of  Burnside's  generalship. 

The  army  correspondent  of  the  New  York 
Tribune  rejoiced  in  giving  the  following  record  of 
abolition  barbarity  :  "  The  old  mansion  of  Douglas 
Gordon — perhaps  the  wealthiest  citizen  in  the  vi 
cinity — is  now  used  as  the  headquarters  of  General 
Howard,  but  before  he  occupied  it,  all  the  elegant 
furniture  and  works  of  art  had  been  broken  up 
^nd  smashed  by  the  soldiers.  When  I  entered  it 
early  this  morning,  before  its  occupation  by  Gen 
eral  Howard,  I  found  the  soldiers  of  his  fine  divi 
sion  diverting  themselves  with  the  rich  dresses 


266       GENERAL   BUBNSIDE'S   BLOODY   CAMPAIOlf. 

found  in  the  ladies'  wardrobes  ;  some  had  on  bon 
nets  of  the  fashion  of  last  year,  and  were  survey 
ing  themselves  before  mirrors,  which  an  hour 
afterwards  were  pitched  out  of  the  windows  and 
smashed  to  pieces  upon  the  pavements  ;  others 
had  elegant  scarfs  bound  round  their  heads  in  the 
form  of  turbans,  and  shawls  around  their  waists." 

The  soldiers  had  also  helped  themselves  to  all 
such  things  as  spoons,  jewelry,  and  silver  plate. 
Never  since  the  march  of  the  Huns  and  Vandals 
was  an  army  permitted  to  commit  such  robberies 
of  private  property. 

It  would  be  certain  death  for  soldiers  to  commit 
such  thefts  under  a  general  who  meant  to  conduct 
the  war  upon  the  recognized  rules  of  civilized  war 
fare. 

After  his  disgraceful  defeat,  General  Burnside 
floundered  about  in  the  mud  up  and  down  the 
banks  of  the  Kappahannock  for  nearly  a  month, 
when  he  became  satisfied  that  many  of  the  officers 
in  his  army  held  him  in  great  contempt,  and  he 
determined  at  once  to  make  an  example  of  them 
for  daring  to  distrust  his  ability. 

So  he,  with  one  bold  stroke,  dismissed  from  the 
service  of  the  United  States,  Generals  Hooker, 
Brooks,  Newton,  and  Cochrane ;  and  removed 
from  command  in  •  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
Generals  Franklin,  W.  F.  Smith,  Sturgis,  Ferrerc, 
and  Colonel  Taylor. 

On  this  order  the  madman  posted  to  Washing 
ton,  and  demanded  of  the  President  an  approval 
of  his  removal  of  all  these  officers,  or  accept  his 


GENERAL   BURNS  IDE'S    BLOODY   CAMPAIGN.       257 

own  resignation.  Of  course  the  President  could 
no  I  hesitate  a  moment,  so  he  immediately  ac 
cepted  Burnside's  resignation,  and  appointed  Gen 
eral  Hooker  to  his  place  as  commander  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac. 
Thus,  exit  Burnside 


CHAPTER  XXXHI. 

ME.  LINCOLN'S  CAMPAIGN  IN  THE  NOBTH. 

I  PROPOSE  now  to  refer  to  the  course  whiah  Mr. 
Jjin3oln's  Administration  pursued  towards  all  in 
the  North  who  differed  from  it.  It  has  always 
been  held  that  it  was  not  only  the  right,  but  the 
duty,  of  every  citizen  to  oppose  the  policy  of  any 
Administration,  when  he  thought  it  wrong.  In 
deed,  every  patriotic  person  will  work  with  zeal 
and  energy  to  change  any  existing  Administration 
whose  policy  he  thinks  ruinous  to  the  country. 

It  was  soon  discovered,  however,  that  Mr.  Lin 
coln  did  not  intend  to  allow  any  opposition  to  his 
policy.  His  organs  called  his  administration  of  the 
Government  the  Government  itself,  and  accused 
everybody  of  "opposing  the  Government"  who 
protested  against  his  unconstitutional  acts.  The 
war  he  was  waging  was  not  so  much  a  war  against 
the  South  as  it  was  against  the  democratic  and 
republican  principle  of  government.  Hence  he 
was  determined  to  put  down  the  spirit  of  liberty 
wherever  he  found  it. 

The  first  warfare  on  these  principles  in  the 
North  which  Mr.  Lincoln  indulged  in  was  an 
assault  on  the  freedom  of  the  press.  In  July,  1861 
he  ordered  that  all  the  leading  Democratic  papers 


ME.  LINCOLN'S  CAMPAIGN  IN  THE  NORTH*    259 

in  New  York  city  be  denied  circulation  in  the 
mails.  This  was  one  of  the  most  arbitrary  and 
tyrannical  acts  ever  committed,  but,  strange  to  say, 
it  was  generally  endorsed  by  the  abolition  news 
papers,  though  their  editors  had  been  howling 
themselves  hoarse  for  years  in  favor  of  a  "free 
press." 

This  act  was  followed  by  a  general  attack  upon 
the  Democratic  press  all  over  the  North.  As  if  by 
a  preconcerted  signal  the  abolitionists  excited 
mobs  to  attack  and  destroy  Democratic  printing 
offices  wherever  there  was  one  that  protested 
against  Mr.  Lincoln's  usurpations.  In  some  cases 
Democratic  editors  were  killed,  in  others  badly 
injured,  and  in  a  great  many  instances  their  offices 
were  destroyed  and  their  types  cast  into  the  street. 

I  am  glad  to  say,  however,  that  in  some  cases 
these  cowardly  mobbers  got  what  they  richly  de 
served.  One  of  these  mobs  attacked  the  office  of 
The  Democrat,  a  paper  published  at  Catskill,  New 
York,  when  Mr.  Hall,  the  editor,  getting  a  hint  of 
their  approach  concealed  himself  in  his  office,  and 
as  they  began  to  pelt  the  windows  with  stones  and 
brickbats  he  took  deliberate  aim  and  fired  a  whole 
charge  of  small  shot  right  into  the  thighs  of  one 
of  the  leading  mobbites.  He  jumped  and  yelled 
fearfully,  and  his  companions,  not  expecting  such 
a  reception,  ran  away  as  fast  as  their  cowardly 
legs  could  carry  them. 

I  only  regret  that  there  were  not  a  great  many 
more  of  these  mobs  served  in  the  same  way. 

It  would  occupy  a  book  five  times  as  large  aa 


260     ME.  LINCOLN'S    CAMPAIGN    IN   THE   NOETH, 

this  one  to  give  the  details  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  cam 
paign  against  the  Democratic  newspapers  of  the 
North.  Not  less  than  three  or  four  hundred  were 
either  denied  the  use  of  the  mails,  or  mobbed.  In 
Maryland,  Kentucky  and  Missouri  they  were  com* 
pletely  crushed  out. 

Mr.  Lincoln,  however,  did  not  stop  with  sup 
pressing  the  freedom  of  the  press.  He  hated  free 
dom  of  speech  just  as  much.  Mr.  Seward  seemed 
to  relish  the  work  of  sending  people  to  Bastiles 
without  any  charge  being  made  against  them.  Up 
to  December,  1861,  a  period  of  little  over  seven 
months  from  the  time  the  war  began,  three  hundred 
and  fifty-one  persons  had  been  sent  to  the  different 
military  prisons  by  order  of  Mr.  Seward  alone, 
whose  names  were  known  and  registered.  Besides 
these  there  were  one  hundred  and  fifty  more, 
known  to  have  been  arrested,  whose  names  could 
not  be  ascertained,  for  after  a  time  they  gave 
orders  that  the  names  of  those  arrested  should  be 
kept  secret. 

The  number  of  persons  arrested  in  the  East  by 
Lincoln  and  Seward  during  three  years  of  the  war 
was  estimated  at  ten  thousand  !  Taking  the  whole 
North  and  the  number  could  not  have  been  less 
than  thirty  thousand  ! 

A  great  number  of  females  were  among  the 
prisoners.  In  many  cases  there  seems  to  have 
been  no  ground  for  the  arrest  but  an  anonymous 
letter,  some  private  gossip  or  the  gratification  of 
some  old  personal  or  political  grudge.  Every 
abolition  politician  seized  the  opportunity  to  per- 


MB.  LINCOLN'S  CAMPAIGN  IN  THE  NORTH.    261 

secute  his  Democratic  neighbors.  Thousands  of 
letters  were  sent  to  Mr.  Seward  urging  him  to 
arrest  individuals  whom  the  writers  accused  of 
"  disloyalty."  One  minister  of  the  Gospel  in  West 
ern  New  York  wrote  thirty  letters  to  Seward  in 
two  months  giving  him  in  each  letter  lists  of 
"  traitors"  to  arrest. 

All  sorts  of  means  were  resorted  to  to  intimidate 
people  from  expressing  their  opinions.  In  New 
York  city  the  writer  saw  several  copies  of  the 
following  circular  sent  to  ladies,  to  frighten  them 
into  submission  to  Lincoln  : 

HEADQUARTERS  OF  THE  UNION  VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE,  ) 

New  York,  April,  1881.     f 

MADAM  :  As  a  person  favoring  traitors  to  the  Union,  you 
are  notified  that  your  name  is  recorded  on  the  Secret  List 
of  this  Association,  your  movements  are  being  strictly 
watched,  and  unless  you  openly  declare  your  adherence  tc 
the  Union,  you  will  be  dealt  with  as  a  TRAITOR. 
By  Order, 

*>  O  ^    Secretary. 

At  the  same  time  the  abolition  papers  were 
filled  with  mysterious  threats.  It  was  stated  that 
lists  of  prominent  "traitors"  in  New  York  city, 
who  opposed  Mr.  Lincoln's  policy,  had  been  made 
out,  by  a  secret  detective  police  which  "  the  Gov 
ernment"  had  formed.  These  spies,  pimps  and  in 
formers  dogged  the  footsteps  of  every  man  whom 
they  suspected  of  bold  and  unqualified  opposition 
to  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his  party.  The  abolition 
papers  were  joyous  over  these  evidences  of  "  vigor" 
as  they  called  the  illegal  arrest  and  imprisonment 


262   ME.  LINCOLN'S  CAMPAIGN  IN  THE  NOBTH. 

of  persons  without  any  trial  or  charge  being  made 
against  them.  The  New  York  Tribune,  one  of  the 
loudest  yelpers  for  (negro)  freedom,  declared  that 
"the  system  of  detective  police  was  bearing  the 
happiest  fruits." 

All  this  time,  while  Democratic  newspapers  were 
denied  the  use  of  the  mails  or  mobbed,  and  while 
thousands  of  Democrats  were  being  thrown  into 
loathsome  dungeons,  for  simply  opposing  the 
policy  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  Administration,  the  Boston 
Liberator  continued  to  flaunt  the  motto,  "  The 
Constitution  is  a  league  with  death  and  a  covenant  with 
hell"  Mr.  Lincoln  not  only  did  not  object  to  that, 
but  it  transpired  afterwards  that  he  was  at  that 
very  time  a  subscriber,  reader,  and  supporter  of 
this  paper ! 

But  I  have  not  began  to  tell  as  yet  one-half  of 
the  outrages  perpetrated  during  this  "  reign  of  ter 
ror"  in  America.  I  must  give  you  a  few  samples 
of  the  multitude  on  record. 

On  the  Sunday  of  February  9th,  1862,  as  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Stuart,  of  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church, 
Alexandria,  Va.,  was  officiating  at  the  altar,  a  bru 
tal  officer,  with  a  file  of  soldiers,  seized  him,  and, 
wrenching  the  prayer-book  out  of  his  hand,  dragged 
him  from  the  altar,  and  through  the  streets,  in  his 
robes  of  office.  The  charge  against  him  was  that 
he  did  not  pray  for  Mr.  Lincoln !  It  is  believed 
that  about  one  hundred  clergymen  in  all  were 
arrested.  One,  Rev.  J.  D.  Benedict,  of  Western 
New  York,  was  seized  at  night,  and  spirited  away 
in  a  carriage,  and  finally  confined  in  the  Old  Capi- 


ME.  LINCOLN'S  CAMPAIGN  IN  THE  NORTH.   263 

tol  Prison,  at  Washington.  His  offence  wag 
preaching  a  discourse  from  Christ's  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  "  Blessed  are  the  peacemakers." 

Judges  were  arrested.     In  some  instances  drag 
ged  from  their  judicial  seats  to  the  dungeon,  an 
kept  for  months  in  prison,  and  then  discharged 
no  crime  being  alleged  against  them. 

Ladies  were  seized  and  imprisoned,  subjected  to 
nameless  insults,  forbidden  the  visits  of  friends, 
and  hurried  from  prison  to  prison  by  Mr.  Lincoln's 
satraps.  The  case  of  a  Mrs.  Brinsmade  may  be 
mentioned.  This  lady  came  to  New  York  from  New 
Orleans,  and  went  to  Washington  to  visit  some 
friends.  While  there  she  was  arrested  and  brought 
on  to  New  York  city,  and  kept  in  a  station-house 
for  forty  days,  by  order  of  John  A.  Kennedy,  Super 
intendent  of  the  New  York  Police. 

I  ought  to  have  mentioned  that  the  Police  De 
partment  of  New  York  had  been  the  most  service 
able  tool  of  Mr.  Seward's  tyranny.  Its  superin 
tendent,  Kennedy,  was  a  man  of  low  and  vulgar 
instincts,  who  seemed  to  rejoice  when  he  had  some 
one  to  persecute.  He  was  a  native  of  Baltimore, 
Maryland,  and  never  seemed  so  well  pleased  as 
when  making  war  on  those  whom  he  charged  with 
"  sympathizing  with  the  South." 

This  is  the  man  who  had  seized  Mrs.  Brinsmade, 
and  he  boasted  that  the  police  station  was  just 
"the  place  for  her." 

Kennedy  had  been  appointed  provost  marshal, 
and  no  one  cculd  have  been  better  fitted  for  the 
dirty  work  of  tyrants.  Among  the  appliances  of 


264   MB.  LINCOLN'S  CAMPAIGN  IN  THE  NOKTH. 

torture  wliicli  lie  kept  for  his  victims  was  a  place 
called  "  Cell  No.  4."  The  Black  Hole  of  Calcutta 
or  the  prison  hulks  of  the  Revolution  could 
scarcely  compete  with  it.  It  was  only  about  three 
"eet  wide  by  six  in  depth.  A  pine  board  had  been 
nailed  across  one  end  as  a  pillow,  and  there  were 
neither  bed-clothes,  mattress,  nor  straw — nothing 
but  the  naked  floor  for  a  bed.  The  door  was  com 
posed  of  iron  bars  tightly  riveted  together. 

It  was  the  dirtiest,  filthiest  place  possible  to  be 
conceived  of.  It  swarmed  with  vermin,  which 
ran  riot  over  the  unfortunate  victims  confined 
there,  who  could  neither  lie  down  nor  sit  down 
for  very  agony.  In  the  •  hottest  and  most  stifling 
weather,  sometimes  three  persons  were  confined  in 
this  three  by  six  cell  at  one  time ! 

On  one  occasion  a  young  man  was  arrested  for 
refusing  to  give  his  name  to  an  enrolling  ofiicer. 

KENNEDY. — "  What  is  your  name  ?" 

YOUNQ  MAN. — "  Well,  I  decline  to  give  my  name." 

KENNEDY. — "  Oh,  you  do.  Well,  I  think  you  will 
give  it  before  being  here  a  great  while."  (Eings 
his  bell.)  "  Here,  ofiicer,  take  this  man  down  stairs 
and  give  him  No.  4." 

The  iron  door  swung  upon  its  ponderous  hinges, 
and  in  went  the  young  man.  In  less  than  fifteen 
minutes  his  cries  were  heard,  and  going  thither, 
he  was  found  in  profuse  perspiration,  the  vermin 
crawling  over  him  and  tormenting  him  beyond  ex 
pression  !  He  was  glad  to  give  his  name  to  escape 
Kennedy's  torture. 

I  have  now  to  relate  what  seems  most  astound- 


ME.  LINCOLN'S    CAMPAIGN   IN    THE    NORTH.     266 

ing  of  all.  Even  boys  and  young  children  were 
arrested,  and  imprisoned  for  months  and  even  years. 
In  September,  1861,  a  poor  newsboy,  named  George 
Hubbell,  was  arrested  on  the  Naugatuck  Railroad, 
and  sent  to  Fort  Lafayette,  for  selling  Democratic 
newspapers !  In  December,  1862,  a  boy  seventeen 
years  of  age  was  released  from  the  same  Bastile, 
whose  only  known  cause  of  arrest  was  that  his 
father  was  an  ardent  Democrat  of  Connecticut. 
In  Kentucky,  a  school  of  boys  was  seized  and  re 
quired  to  take  what  was  called  "the  iron-clad 
oath."  Most  of  them,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  got  fright 
ened,  and  submitted ;  but  two  brothers,  named 
Woolsey,  stoutly  refused,  and  were  sent  to  jail, 
where  Lincoln  kept  them  for  over  two  years. 

This  showed  the  right  spirit.  We  ought  always 
to  be  willing  to  go  to  jail  for  our  principles,  and  tr 
yield  our  life  even  before  we  will  give  them  up. 
If  everybody  who  was  arrested  by  Lincoln  and 
Seward  had  followed  the  example  of  these  noble 
boys,  they  would  have  been  compelled  to  send  so 
many  to  jail  that  their  prisons  would  have  been 
too  small  to  hold  them,  and  they  would  have  seen 
such  pluck  exhibited  that  they  might  have  got 
frightened,  and  given  up  their  usurpations. 

As  I  have  said,  Democratic  editors  were  arrested 
and  sent  to  these  Bastiles.  Mr.  J.  A.  McMasters, 
editor  of  the  New  York  Freeman's  Journal,  was  not 
only  thus  arrested,  but  carried  hand-cuffed  through 
the  streets  to  Fort  Lafayette.  Mr.  F.  D.  Flanders, 
editor  of  the  Malone  Gazette,  and  his  brother  Judge 
J.  B.  Flanders,  both  prominent  men  opposed  to  Lin- 


266   ME.  LINCOLN'S  CAMPAIGN  IN  THE  NOETH. 

coin  s  policy,  in  Franklin  County,  New  York,  were 
also  arrested,  and  confined  by  order  of  Mr.  Seward 
in  Fort  Lafayette.  No  doubt,  lie  thought  he 
would  by  this  means  stop  the  bold  little  papei 
which  Mr.  Flanders  published. 

But  in  this  I  am  happy  to  say  he  was  mistaken  ; 
for  his  wife,  a  brave  and  talented  woman,  seized 
the  pen  herself,  and  with  great  energy  and  deter 
mination  kept  the  paper  going  while  her  husband 
was  in  prison  for  opinion's  sake.  The  name  of 
this  lady,  Louisa  B.  Flanders,  ought  to  become  as 
historic  as  that  of  the  brave  woman  of  the  Revolu 
tion,  who,  at  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  when  her 
husband,  who  was  a  cannoneer,  was  shot  down, 
seized  the  ramrod  aud  loaded  the  gun  herself. 
All  through  this  war,  it  is  the  noble  women,  whether 
North  or  Sonth,  who  seem  to  have  grasped,  as  if 
by  instinct,  how  horrible  is  the  crime  of  trying  to 
degrade  and  debauch  our  race  to  a  level  with 
negroes. 

The  character  of  the  prisons  where  Democrats 
were  confined  was  entirely  on  a  par  with  "  Cell  No. 
4."  In  Fort  Lafayette  rats  were  at  one  time  very 
numerous.  One  night  a  prisoner  was  awakened 
by  finding  several  on  his  bed-clothes,  and  at  an 
other  time  felt  one  nibbling  at  his  toes.  At  Camp 
Chase,  Columbus,  Ohio,  there  was  also  a  political 
prison,  where  five  or  six  hundred  prisoners  were 
sometimes  confined  at  a  time.  The  prison  was 
awfully  filthy,  alive  with  lice  and  vermin.  A  man 
was  found  dead  in  the  dead  yard  one  morning, 
covered  all  over  with  vermin.  Two  men  got  into 


ME.  LINCOLN'S    CAMPAIGN    IN   THE   NOUTH.     267 

a  scuffle  one  day,  trying  their  strength,  when  the 
guards  shot  among  the  prisoners,  killing  an  old 
man  named  Jones  from  West  Virginia.  These 
prisoners,  it  should  be  remembered,  were  con 
victed  of  no  crime,  did  not  even  know  why  they 
were  arrested,  but  were  simply  held  to  gratify 
some  one's  spite  and  malice. 

Sometimes  people  were  arrested  for  the  most 
trivial  ca,uses.  For  instance,  Mr.  David  C.  Wattles, 
of  North  Branch,  Mich.,  was  arrested,  and  sent 
all  the  way  to  Forfc  Lafayette.  And  for  what? 
Why  ;  his  children  had  raised  upon  a  pole  an  old 
shirt,  which  had  been  dyed  red  by  straining  black 
berry  juice  through  it.  Some  one  on  the  strength 
of  this  reported  that  Mr.  Wattles  had  raised  a  seces 
sion  flag,  and  without  a  why  or  a  wherefore,  he 
was  kept  in  Fort  Lafayette  jive  months  !  Dr.  L.  M 
Koss,  of  Illinois,  was  arrested  and  kept  for 
months  in  the  Old  Capitol,  at  Washington,  because 
he  had  been  seen  in  the  public  street  to  draw  his 
finger  under  his  nose.  It  was  reported  to  Seward 
that  this  was  the  private  signal  of  a  secret  organi 
zation,  but  it  was  found  afterward  that  no  such  or 
ganization  existed ! 

Early  in  1861,  almost  the  entire  Legislature  of 
Maryland  had  been  arrested.  The  Police  Com 
missioner  of  Baltimore,  Mr.  Charles  Howard,  and 
his  associates,  had  also  been  sent  to  Fort  McHenry, 
by  order  of  General  Banks.  Afterwards  the  edit 
ors  of  the  Baltimore  Exchange,  subsequently  the 
Gazette,  together  with  many  other  prominent  citi 
zens  of  Maryland,  were  seized  and  immured  in 


268     MB.  LINCOLN'S    CAMPAIGN    IN   THE    NORTH. 

Bastiles,  where  some  of  them  remained  nearly  two 
years. 

So  great  had  these  outrages  become,  both  on  the 
press  and  upon  persons,  that  the  fall  elections  oi 
1862  were  generally  carried  by  the  Democrats, 
Horatio  Seymour  was  nominated  for  Governor  of 
the  State  of  New  York,  by  the  Democratic  party. 
He  was  a  gentleman  of  the  highest  social  charac 
ter  and  position,  and  deservedly  popular.  He  was 
pledged  to  restore  the  freedom  of  the  press  in  the 
State  at  all  hazards.  On  this  ground  he  received 
the  united  and  earnest  support  of  all  Democrats, 
and  was  elected. 

When  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Mr.  Seward  heard  of 
this,  they  were  a  little  cowed  ;  and  as  they  did  not 
wish  to  provoke  an  issue  with  the  great  State  of  New 
York,  they  did  just  what  they  had  done  when  John 
Bull  demanded  Messrs.  Mason  and  Slidell — they 
backed  down.  Before  the  day  of  Mr.  Seymour's 
inauguration,  January  1st,  1863,  they  issued  an 
order,  allowing  all  papers  to  circulate  in  the  mails 
as  usual.  Thus  there  had  something  been  wrenched 
from  the  usurpers. 

They  also  thought  it  prudent  to  relax  a  little  in 
their  system  of  arbitrary  arrests.  Mr.  Seward, 
after  boasting  to  Lord  Lyons  that  "  he  could  ring 
one  bell  on  his  right  hand,  and  arrest  a  citizen  in 
New  York,  and  another  bell  on  his  left,  and  arrest 
a  citizen  in  Ohio,"  turned  the  matter  of  arrests 
over  to  Stanton,  of  the  War  Department,  who  in 
stituted  a  kind  of  mock  trials  before  military  com- 


MB.  LINCOLN'S    CAMPAIGN    IN  THE    NORTH.      269 

missions,  by  which  they  tried  to  give  a  semblance 
of  legal  form  to  their  usurpations. 

It  must  be  confessed,  however,  that  the  stop 
page  of  Democratic  newspapers  and  the  large 
number  of  arrests  had  produced  the  effect  that 
Lincoln  and  Seward  anticipated.  It  prevented  a 
full  and  free  development  of  public  opinion,  which 
would,  no  doubt,  have  put  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his 
party  out  of  power.  It  operated  on  the  timid,  and 
thousands  were  roped  in  and  made  to  serve  the 
purposes  of  the  abolitionists  by  the  cry  of  "  sup 
porting  the  Government." 

Such  was  the  real  effect  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  cam 
paign  in  the  North. 


CHAPTEE  XXXIV. 

% 

THE    BATTLE     OF    HURFREESBORO DOINGS    IN   THE 

WEST,    ETC. 

LEAVING  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  for  awhile, 
let  us  now  return  to  Tennessee  and  see  what  has 
been  passing  there.  The  Confederate  army,  under 
General  Bragg,  to  the  number  of  about  thirty 
thousand  had  been  resting  at  Murfreesboro  for 
more  than  a  month. 

There  General  Bragg  was  resting  in  happy,  but 
not  over  useful,  security,  when,  on  Friday,  the  26th 
of  December,  he  was  startled,  as  from  a  dream, 
with  tidings  that  Kosecrans  had  broken  up  his 
camp  at  Nashville,  and  was  marching  rapidly  upon 
him. 

Bragg's  pickets  were  driven  in  that  very  after 
noon.  The  next  day,  December  27th,  Kosecrana 
made  a  feint  attack  to  feel  the  position  of  the  Con 
federate  army,  but  General  Wheeler's  cavalry 
gained  his  rear  and  captured  a  good  many  wagons 
and  a  number  of  prisoners.  But  the  great  battle 
did  not  really  begin  until  the  morning,  the  31st  of 
December,  when  General  Bragg  ordered  an  ad 
vance.  It  was  an  impetuous  one,  and  the  position 
of  Rosecrans'  line  upon  which  the  assault  waa 
made,  wavered,  and  finally  broke  and  fell  back. 


BATTLE    OF    MURFREESBORO.  271 

Before  noon  Bragg  captured  five  thousand  pris 
oners,  thirty  pieces  of  cannon,  five  thousand  stand 
of  arms,  and  a  large  number  of  ammunition 
wagons.  The  right  wing  of  Rosecrans'  army  was 
driven  back  over  five  miles.  Thus  matters  stood 
when  darkness  shut  down  upon  the  battle-field. 

The  next  day  neither  party  made  any  sign  of  re 
newing  the  fight.  Bragg  telegraphed  to  Richmond 
that  he  had  won  a  great  victory.  It  was»  the  1st 
day  of  January,  and  he  said,  "  God  has  granted  us  a 
happy  New  Year."  The  next  day  Rosecrans  showed 
no  sign  of  either  retreating,  or  beginning  the  fight 
again.  But  he  had  made  the  best  of  the  two  days' 
rest  which  Bragg  had  given  him,  and  to  a  naturally 
strong  position  he  had  hastily  added  strong  de 
fensive  works. 

At  three  o'clock  of  that  day  General  Bragg 
opened  an  assault  upon  the  Federal  lines  again. 
It  was  the  beginning  of  another  terrible  battle,  hi 
which,  after  a  desperate  struggle,  the  Confederate 
forces  were  repulsed,  and  lost  about  all  they  had 
gained  before.  But  night  fell  upon  both  armies 
occupying  nearly  the  position  they  held  in  the 
morning. 

The  next  day  was  a  cold  rain-storm,  and  neither 
army  made  any  movement.  But  towards  evening 
General  Bragg  heard  that  his  enemy  was  receiving 
reinforcements  ;  and,  that  night  he  withdrew  the 
Confederate  army  to  a  place  called  Tullahoma, 
twenty-two  miles  from  Murfreesboro. 

At  the  very  time  these  battles  were  going  on  in 
Tennessee  the  Confederates  gained  some  important 
19 


272  DOINGS   IN   THE    WEST,    ETU, 

victories  in  Texas,  by  which  they  retook  the  City 
of  Galveston,  which  had  for  some  time  been  in  the 
hands  of  the  abolition  army. 

Alternate  Confederate  victories  and  reverses 
wore  transpiring  throughout  the  West  and  South; 
but  as  yet  no  visible  impression  had  been  made 
upon  what  was  called  "the  rebellion."  Indeed, 
thus  far,  the  general  tide  of  victory  had  been 
almost  everywhere  in  its  favor. 

The  abolitionists  were  discouraged.  Many  in 
the  North  who  had  given  their  influence  to  the 
cause  began  to  waver,  and  the  hearts  of  the  most 
sanguine  were  despondent. 

For  a  long  time  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  had  been 
going  on  without  any  favorable  results.  Millions 
of  dollars  had  been  expended,  and  a  great  many 
lives  lost,  but  no  positive  gain  had  been  realized. 
Indeed,  the  Confederates  had  been  generally  win 
ners  on  the  Mississippi  Biver  and  its  approaches. 

They  had  a  strong  hold  at  Port  Hudson,  three 
hundred  miles  below  Vicksburg  and  sixteen  miles 
above  Baton  Rouge,  which  had  long  proved  itself 
too  much  for  all  the  fleets  of  abolition  gun-boats. 
About  this  time  the  "  Indianola"  and  the  "  Queen 
of  the  West"  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Confederates. 

On  the  15th  of  March,  1863,  a  desperate  effort 
was  made  to  take  this  place.  An  immense  fleet  of 
gun-boats,  under  the  command  of  Admiral  Far- 
ragut,  was  moved  against  it,  and  after  a  terrible 
fight,  Port  Hudson  was  still  the  Sebastopol  of  the 
Mississippi.  The  Federal  fleet  was  forced  back 
terribly  shattered,  torn  and  exploded. 


DOINGS   IN    THE   WEST,    ETC.  273 

A  gloomy  malice  settled  upon  the  faces  of  the 
abolitionists.  All  things  appeared  to  go  wrong. 
Among  the  other  things  which  they  had  looked  for 
before  this,  was  a  general  uprising  of  the  negroes 
to  murder  their  masters  and  mistresses.  But  the 
negroes  had  shown  a  decided  leaning  against  the 
abolitionists.,  The  following  specimen  of  darkey 
lingo  is  reported,  and  is  a  fair  specimen  of  the 
general  temper  of  the  negroes,  before  the  aboli 
tionists  had  corrupted  them. 

There  was  a  very  old  gray-haired  cook  in  an 
Alabama  regiment,  who  would  follow  his  young 
master  to  the  war,  and  had  the  reputation  of  a 
saint  among  the  negro  boys  of  the  brigade  ;  and 
as  he  could  read  the  Bible,  and  was  given  to 
preaching,  he  invariably  assembled  the  darkies  on 
Sunday  afternoon,  and  held  meetings  in  the  woods. 
He  used  to  lecture  them  unmercifully,  but  could 
not  keep  them  from  singing  and  dancing  after 
"tattoo."  Uncle  Pompey,  as  he  was  called,  was 
an  excellent  servant,  and  an  admirable  cook,  and 
went  on  from  day  to  day  singing  hymns  among 
his  pots  round  the  camp-fire,  until  a  battle  opened. 
When  the  regiment  moved  up  to  the  front  and  was 
engaged,  Uncle  Pompey,  contrary  to  orders,  per 
sisted  in  going  also.  One  day  he  was  met  by 
another  darkey,  who  asked  : 

"  Whar's  you  gwine,  Uncle  Pomp  ?  You  isn't 
gwine  up  dar  to  have  all  de  har  scorched  off  yer 
head,  is  you  ?" 

Uncle  Pompey  still  persisted  in  advancing,  and, 
shouldering  a  rifle,  soon  overtook  his  regiment. 


274  DOINGS   IN   THE   WEST,    ETC. 

1  De  Lor*  hab  mercy  on  us  all,  boys  here  dey 
comes  agin !  take  car,  massa,  and  hole  your  rifle 
square,  as  I  showed  you  in  the  swamp !  Dar  it 
is,"  he  exclaimed,  as  the  Yankees  fired  an  over 
shot,  "just  as  I  taught!  can't  shoot  worth  a  bad 
five-cent  piece." 

"  Now's  de  time,  boys !"  and  as  the  Alabamians 
returned  a  withering  volley  and  closed  up  with  the 
enemy,  charging  them  furiously,  Uncle  Pompey 
forgot  all  about  his  church,  his  ministry,  and 
sanctity,  and  while  firing  and  dodging,  as  best  he 
could,  was  heard  to  shout  out : 

"  Pitch  in,  white  folks,  Uncle  Pomp's  behind  yer. 
Send  all  de  Yankees  to  the  'ternal  flames,  whar 
dar's  weeping  and  gnashing  of — sail  in  Alabamy  ; 
stick  'em  wid  de  bayonet,  and  send  all  de  blue 
ornary  cusses  to  de  state  ob  eternal  fire  and  brim 
stone  !  Push  'em  hard,  boys ! — push  'em  hard  ; 
and  when  dey's  gone,  may  de  Lor'  hab  marcy  on 
de  last  one  on  'em !  don't  spar'  none  on  'em,  for  de 
good  Lo'd  neber  made  such  as  dem,  no  how  you 
kin  fix  it ;  for  it  am  said  in  de  two-eyed  chapter 
of  de  one-eyed  John,  somewhar  in  Collusions,  dat 
— Hurray,  boys !  dat's  you,  sure — now  you've  gob 
'em  ;  give  'em,  goss !  show  'em  a  taste  of  ole  Ala 
bamy!"  etc. 

The  person  who  saw  Uncle  Pompey  during  thig 
scene  was  wounded  and  sat  behind  a  tree,  but  said, 
although  his  hurt  was  extremely  painful,  the  elo 
quence,  rage,  and  impetuosity  of  Pomp,  as  he 
loaded  and  fired  rapidly,  was  so  ludicrous,  being 
an  incoherent  jumble  of  oaths,  snatches  of  Scrip- 


DOINGS   IN   THE    WEST,    ETC.  275 

tore,  and  prayers,  that  the  tears  ran  down  his 
cheeks,  and  he  burst  out  into  a  roar  of  laughter. 

Such  a  state  of  feeling  as  this  among  the  negroes 
was  certainly  most  discouraging  to  those  who  im 
patiently  expected  to  see  them  cutting  the  throats 
of  Southern  women  and  children. 


CHAPTEE  XXXV. 

GENERAL   HOOKER'S   CAMPAIGN. 

WE  now  return  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac; 
General  Hooker  had  spent  full  three  months  in 
re-organizing  and  bringing  that  army  out  of  the 
wretched  chaos  and  demoralization  in  which  it  was 
left  by  General  Burnside.  It  must  be  confessed 
that  General  Hooker  put  forth  a  great  deal  of 
energy,  and  evinced  a  great  deal  of  executive 
ability  in  repairing  that  army.  When  he  had 
concluded  his  labors  in  that  direction,  and  was 
about  to  commence  operations  in  the  field,  he  pro 
nounced  it  "the  finest  army  on  the  planet."  It 
numbered  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  thousand 
men  of  all  arms,  with  an  artillery  force  of  four 
hundred  guns. 

To  meet  this  tremendous  army  Lee  had  not  ovei 
fifty  thousand  men.  Again  abolition  faith  ran 
high.  The  "  On  to  Kichmond"  shout,  for  the  fifth 
time,  reverberated  over  the  North.  To  doubt  that 
Hooker  would  take  Kichmond  in  less  than  twenty 
days  called  down  upon  the  sceptic  the  suspicion 
of  "  disloyalty."  And  many  a  man  was  mobbed 
for  simply  venturing  to  entertain  a  doubt  of  aboli 
tion  success  that  time. 


GENERAL  HOOKER'S  CAMPAIGN.        277 

General  Hooker  certainly  began  with,  a  great 
promise  of  success.  His  army  outnumbered  Lee's 
almost  three  to  one,  and  never  was  an  army  better 
equipped.  In  this  respect,  too,  his  advantages 
over  Lee  were  quite  as  great  as  his  very  great  ex 
cess  of  numbers.  And  all  his  plans  for  the  decisive 
battle,  up  to  the  very  hour  of  its  first  gun,  pros- 
pered  wonderfully.  His  army  crossed  the  Bappa- 
hannock  at  several  points,  and  concentrated  at 
Chancellorville,  which  place  General  Hooker  him 
self  reached  on  the  night  of  Thursday,  April  30th, 
1863.  He  immediately  issued  an  order  to  his 
troops,  couched  in  language  not  much  calculated 
to  inspire  the  respect  and  confidence  of  men  of 
good  taste  and  good  sense.  He  said  :  "  The  enemy 
must  either  ingloriously  fly,  or  come  out  from 
behind  his  defences  and  give  us  battle  on  our  own 
ground,  where  certain  destruction  awaits  him." 
His  conversation  was  of  the  same  boastful  style  as 
his  order.  He  said  :  "  The  rebel  army  is  now  the 
legitimate  property  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 
They  may  as  well  pack  up  their  haversacks  and 
make  for  Eichmond  ;  and  I  shall  be  after  them." 
This  talk  is  precisely  like  Hooker. 

An  intelligent  writer  remarks  that,  "Lee,  with 
instant  perception  of  the  situation,  now  seized  the 
masses  of  his  force,  and  with  the  grasp  of  a  Titan, 
swung  them  into  position  as  a  giant  might  fling  * 
mighty  stone  from  a  sling." 

Hooker's  line  of  battle,  formed  on  Friday  even 
ing,  was  five  miles  in  extent,  on  ground  of  his  own 
choosing.  In  this  position  he  awaited  an  attack 


278 


from  Lee  on  Saturday  morning,  May  2d.  But  Lee 
simply  showed  very  active  signs  of  beginning  an 
attack,  while  he,  with  great  secrecy  and  despatch, 
sent  Stonewall  Jackson,  with  a  force  of  twenty 
thousand  men,  to  flank  Hooker  by  assailing  his 
right  ana  rear.  This  plan  was  executed  with  such 
celerity  and  skill,  that  Hooker  had  no  suspicion 
that  he  had  not  the  whole  of  Lee's  army  before 
him  until  he  heard  Stonewall  Jackson  thundering 
and  crashing  into  his  rear.  He  fell  upon  Hooker 
like  an  avalanche,  and  drove  this  portion  of  his 
army  before  him  in  utter  rout  and  confusion.  The 
blow  was  dealt  with  such  power  that  everything 
feH  before  it. 

The  Federal  historian  of  the  campaigns  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  says  :  "  The  open  plain 
around  Chancellorville  now  presented  such  a  spec 
tacle  as  a  simoon  sweeping  over  the  desert  might 
make.  Through  the  dusk  of  night-fall  a  rushing 
whirlwind  of  men  and  artillery  and  wagons  swept 
down  the  road,  and  swept  past  head-quarters, 
and  on  towards  the  fords  of  the  Rappahannock  ; 
and  it  was  in  vain  that  the  staff  opposed  their 
persons  and  drawn  sabres  to  the  panic-stricken 
fugitives." 

The  Confederates  had  won  a  sudden  and  a  great 
victory,  but  at  a  cost  which  was  really  a  greater 
loss  to  them  than  twenty  great  battles,  for  Stone 
wall  Jackson  was  mortally  wounded  while  riding 
over  the  battle-field  in  the  dark,  by  his  own  men, 
who  mistook  him  for  a  stray  Federal. 

I  shall  not  pause  here  to  speak  of  the  shock 


GENERAL  HOOKER'S  CAMPAIGN.       279 

which  the  news  of  Stonewall  Jackson's  death  gave, 
not  only  to  Lee's  army  and  the  Confederate  States, 
but  to  the  whole  world.  For  he  had  won  a  fame 
which  will  last  as  long  as  valorous  deeds  command 
the  admiration  of  mankind. 

Lee  received  the  news  of  Jackson's  fall  before 
daylight  on  Sunday  morning,  and  the  messenger 
who  brought  the  sad  news  said  :  "  It  was  General 
Jackson's  intent  to  press  the  enemy  on  Sun 
day."  General  Lee  replied,  with  deep  emotion  : 
"These  people  shall  be  pressed  to-day."  Gen 
eral  Stuart  temporarily  was  entrusted  with  Jack 
son's  command,  and  at  daylight  he  opened  the 
attack  with  the  battle-cry,  "Charge,  and  remem 
ber  Jackson !" 

The  charge  was  impetuous,  and  threw  the  enemy 
back  in  great  confusion.  At  the  same  time, 
Lee  attacked  Hooker's  centre,  and  in  a  short 
time  his  whole  line  was  forced  precipitately  back. 
By  ten  o'clock  Hooker's  defeat  was  complete, 
and  the  Confederates  occupied  the  field  at  Chan- 
cellorville. 

General  Hooker  made  two  or  three  abortive 
strategic  movements  to  regain  his  lost  fortunes. 
His  fate  was  sealed.  The  enemy  whom  he  was 
sure  to  "bag,"  had  whipped  him  unmercifully,  and 
now  it  was  even  a  serious  question  whether  he 
would  not  himself  be  "  bagged"  by  Lee's  compara 
tively  small  army.  But  he  succeeded  in  retreating 
across  the  river,  and  found  safety  only  in  flight. 
He  had  lost  seventeen  thousand  two  hundred  and 
eighty-one  men,  nineteen  thousand  stand  of  arms, 


280       GENEBAL  HOOKER'S  CAMPAIGN. 

and  a  vast  amount  of  ammunition.  Lee's  loss  was 
less  than  ten  thousand  men.  Hooker  was  obliged 
to  leave  his  dead  and  wounded  in  the  hands  of  th« 
Confederates.  He  retreated  until  finally  he  brought 
up  precisely  where  McDowell,  Pope,  and  Burnside 
had  before  him,  in  the  defences  in  front  of  Wash 
ington.  He  went  out  as  proud  and  as  boasting  as 
Lucifer,  and  came  back  as  badly  fallen.  All  his 
division  commanders  despised  his  generalship,  and 
there  were  none  to  do  him  reverence.  His  com 
mand  was  finally  taken  from  him  and  given  to 
General  Meade,  who  had  been  a  division  com 
mander  under  McClellan. 

Military  matters  now  remained  in  a  quiet  state 
until  the  first  week  in  June,  when  General  Lee  be 
gan  to  move  northward  again.  All  doubt  as  to 
his  real  intention  vanished  when  it  was  announced 
that  his  infantry  had  crossed  the  Potomac  and  that 
his  cavalry  was  in  Pennsylvania.  The  North  was 
again  aroused  by  frantic  appeals  for  help  from 
Washington.  "  The  capital  in  danger"  had  again 
taken  the  place  of  the  cry  of  "  On  to  Richmond. " 
Crowds  of  soldiers  again  rushed  to  Washington. 

Lee  marched  with  his  veterans  straight  across 
Maryland  into  Pennsylvania,  and  occupied  Cham- 
bersburg.  No  officer  or  soldier  was  allowed  to 
commit  any  depredations,  and  the  people,  not  used 
to  seeing  such  soldiers,  laughed  at  the  "barefooted 
rebels/'  and  the  women  jeered  them  from  the  side 
walks.  On  the  morning  of  the  30th  of  June,  when 
General  Lee's  army  left  Chambersburg  in  a  north- 


GENERAL  HOOKER'S  CAMPAIGN.       281 

erly  direction,  a  panic  seized  the  whole  surround 
ing  country. 

People  ran  away  in  droves  from  Harrisburg, 
Pittsburg,  and  even  from  Philadelphia  money  and 
valuables  were  sent  on  to  New  York.  In  Pitts- 
burg  five  thousand  men  were  set  to  work  building 
forts  to  protect  the  city. 

General  Lee  finally  concentrated  his  forces  near 
the  town  of  Gettysburg,  and  here,  on  the  1st  of 
July,  1863,  commenced  perhaps  the  most  impor 
tant  battle  of  the  war.  On  the  1st  day,  Major- 
General  Eeynolds,  of  the  abolition  army,  was 
killed,  and  the  Confederates  took  some  600  prison 
ers  and  ten  pieces  of  artillery. 

The  next  day  remained  quiet  until  about  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when  General  Longstreet 
commenced  the  attack  by  a  heavy  cannonade.  The 
day's  work,  on  the  whole,  was  favorable  to  the 
Confederates,  but  in  the  meantime  the  Federal 
army  had  been  reinforced,  and  was  concentrated 
in  a  strong  position  on  Cemetery  Hill,  used  as  a 
burial  place  by  the  citizens  of  Gettysburg. 

The  real  contest  was  to  drive  General  Meade's 
troops  from  this  position.  At  one  o'clock  on  the 
3d  of  July,  General  Lee  concentrated  all  his  gunb 
upon  it.  The  cannonade  was  terrific.  The  shower 
of  shot  and  shell  went  crashing  and  smashing 
through  the  graveyard  with  fearful  effect  The 
slaughter  among  the  Federal  troops  was  foarful, 
but  they  held  the  ground  manfully.  About  three 
o'clock  the  Confederates  prepared  for  a  grand 
charge  upon  the  position.  Never  was  there  a 


282  GENERAL   HOOKEE'S    CAMPAIGN. 

braver  or  more  gallant  charge.  Though  hundreds 
of  cannon  mowed  through  their  ranks  a  swath  of 
death,  these  war-worn  veterans  heeded  them  not. 
They  thought  themselves  invincible,  and  rushed 
into  the  ^ery  jaws  of  death,  if  thereby  they  could 
save  their  beloved  land  from  the  abolition  destroyer. 
But  in  vain.  No  mortal  men  could  withstand  this 
tempest  of  leaden  and  iron  hail.  Slowly  they  fell 
back,  but  without  dismay  or  confusion. 

The  Federal  army  was  too  much  shattered  to 
follow ;  indeed,  so  far  as  the  battle  was  concerned, 
it  was  a  drawn  game.  It  was  only  in  its  effects 
that  it  was  disastrous  to  the  Confederates.  Gen 
eral  Lee  was  short  of  ammunition.  He  had  ex 
pected  to  capture  it  from  his  enemies.  But  failing 
in  that,  was  forced  to  fall  back  for  supplies. 

It  was  slow  work,  for  besides  his  prisoners,  IA 
had  an  immense  train  of  wagons,  horses,  mules, 
and  cattle,  captured  in  Pennsylvania.  Still  he 
pursued  his  course  without  any  serious  attack 
from  the  Federals,  and  safely  crossed  the  Potomac 
with  his  captures. 

An  amusing  incident  is  related  of  this  retreat, 
which  serves  to  show  the  fidelity  of  the  negro 
character  when  uncorrupted.  General  Longstreet 
passing  one  day,  observed  a  negro  dressed  in  a 
full  Federal  uniform,  with  a  rifle  at  full  cock,  lead 
ing  along  a  barefooted  white  man,  with  whom  he 
had  evidently  changed  clothes.  General  Long- 
street  stopped  the  pair,  and  asked  what  it  meant. 

"Wall,  massa,  you  see,"  said  Sambo,  "de  two 
Bojers  in  charge  of  dis  here  Yank  got  drunk,  so 


GENERAL    HOOKEll'S    CAMPAIGN.  283 

for  fear  he  might  git  away,  I  jis  took  car  of  him 
myself." 

This  was  spoken  in  a  most  consequential  man 
ner.  If  any  abolitionist  could  have  seen  this 
negro,  so-called  slave,  thus  leading  a  white  North 
ern  soldier,  alone  and  of  his  own  accord,  he  woul  3 
no  doubt  have  been  greatly  disgusted. 


CHAPTEE  XXXVL 

THE   SIEGE   OF   VICKSBUKG. 

WE  must  now  return  to  the  West.  The  cry  of 
opening  the  Mississippi  Eiver  had  been  second 
only  to  the  demand  of  taking  Eichmond.  The 
Confederates,  after  the  loss  of  their  fortifications 
further  up  the  river,  had  fortified  the  city  of  Vicks- 
burg  in  the  most  substantial  manner.  The  town 
is  built  upon  high  bluffs,  and  is  well  adapted  for 
defence.  General  Wm.  T.  Sherman  had  attacked 
it  in  December,  1862,  but  had  been  so  badly  re 
pulsed  that  he  was  glad  to  abandon  the  job. 

As  this  General  Sherman  loomed  up  very  largely 
afterwards,  it  may  be  proper  to  say  that  he  was  an 
officer  of  the  old  army  in  the  Mexican  war,  and 
when  this  one  broke  out,  was  President  of  the 
Military  Academy  of  Louisiana.  He  came  North, 
however,  and  joined  Mr.  Lincoln's  army,  and  has 
made  a  name  which  will  be  forever  associated  with 
cruelty  and  barbarism. 

After  he  was  repulsed  at  Vicksburg,  he  took 
some  vessels  of  Admiral  Porter's  fleet,  and  steam 
ing  up  the  Arkansas  Eiver,  took  a  Confederate 
fort  at  Arkansas  Post,  and  many  guns  and  prison 
ers. 


GEN.   WM.   T.   SHERMAN.    .... 

Page  284. 


THE  SIEGE   OF   VICKSBURG.  285 

After  General  Sherman's  failure  to  take  Vicks- 
burg,  General  Grant  was  placed  in  command  of 
the  forces  for  its  reduction.  To  take  it  in  front 
was  impossible.  So  General  Grant  spent  three 
months  or  more  in  making  experiments  to  flank 
it.  His  first  plan  was  to  cut  a  canal  on  the  west 
side  of  the  river,  to  cut  it  off,  but  the  waters  came 
near  drowning  his  own  men,  without  harming  the 
Confederates  in  the  least.  Then  the  abolition  pa 
pers  came  out  with  the  terrible  announcement 
that  General  Grant  was  going  to  cut  a  new  chan 
nel  for  the  Mississippi,  from  Lake  Providence  to 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico!  But  General  Grant  also 
failed  in  this.  He  then  tried  to  cut  a  canal  from 
the  Yazoo  Kiver  to  a  point  south  of  Vicksburg. 
But  in  all  these  efforts  to  change  the  face  of  nature 
General  Grant  was  unsuccessful. 

However,  during  this  time  Admiral  Porter  kept 
up  the  excitement  by  the  operations  of  his  fleet. 
Waiting  for  a  night  dark  enough  to  suit  his  pur 
poses,  he  took  five  iron-olads,  the  Benton,  Pitts- 
burg,  Carondelet,  Lafayette,  and  Louisville,  and 
several  transports,  and  resolved  to  run  by  the 
Confederate  batteries.  The  whole  fleet  was  so 
managed  that  it  made  not  so  much  noise  as  a  rip 
ple  of  a  single  oar.  Thus  noiselessly,  breathlessly, 
they  dropped  along  down  the  river,  until,  when 
directly  opposite  the  city,  bomb  !  went  the  signal 
gun  on  the  heights  of  Vicksburg,  and  in  an  instant 
all  the  batteries  opened  upon  them.  The  scene 
was  terrific.  The  blackness  of  the  heavens  was 
illuminated  with  the  lurid  flames  vomited  from 
20 


286  THE   SIEGE    OP    VICKSBUJSG. 

the  mouths  of  the  cannon  in  the  numerous  bat 
teries  along  the  shore. 

But  the  instant  Admiral  Porter  saw  that  he  was 
discovered,  he  gave  command  to  put  on  the  steam 
and  run  the  gauntlet — a  feat  which  was  accom 
plished  with  the  loss  of  the  transport  Forest 
Queen,  and  with  more  or  less  damage  to  the 
whole  fleet. 

After  the  guns  of  Vicksburg  were  passed,  there 
were  no  other  Confederate  works  on  the  Missis 
sippi,  until  they  reached  Grand  Gulf,  twenty-five 
miles  south  of  Vicksburg.  There  were  no  Con 
federate  soldiers  stationed  in  the  space  between 
Vicksburg  and  Grand  Gulf  at  the  time  of  Porter's 
running  past  Vicksburg,  and  yet,  for  two  weeks, 
he  amused  himself  by  sailing  up  and  down  the 
river,  and  throwing  shells  into  the  houses  which 
were  occupied  almost  exclusively  by  women  and 
children.  This  was  not  only  a  needless  cruelty, 
but  it  was  a  violation  of  the  laws  of  civilized  war 
fare.  It  was  simply  the  murder  of  women  and 
children. 

Grand  Gulf  was  an  important  point,  and  Admi 
ral  Porter  made  up  his  mind  to  take  it,  if  possible. 
One  morning  he  gave  an  early  order  to  move  upon 
it,  but  was  answered  by  the  captains,  that  theii 
men  had  not  yet  had  breakfast.  To  which  Portei 
replied — "  O  never  mind  about  breakfast ;  we  will 
take  the  place  in  half  an  hour,  and  breakfast  after 
wards." 

The  Benton  led  the  attack,  then  followed  the 
Carondelet,  the  Pittsburg,  the  Louisville,  the  Tus- 


THE   SIEGE    OF   VICKSBUEG.  28 

cumbia,  and  Lafayette.  The  line  of  battle  wa< 
so  formed  as  to  pour  a  cross  fire  upon  the  Con 
federate  works.  For  five  hours  the  battle  raged 
without  a  moment's  cessation,  and  without  produc 
ing  the  least  visible  impression  upon  the  Confed 
erate  batteries.  But  the  Tuscumbia  was  destroyed, 
the  Benton  terribly  riddled,  and  indeed  the  whole 
fleet  wore  a  most  ragged  and  ruined  aspect.  The 
thing  that  Porter  promised  should  only  be  half  an 
hour's  job  before  breakfast,  proved  to  be  not  only 
an  ail  day's  job,  but  even  an  impossible  task. 

The  passage  of  Admiral  Porter's  fleet  of  gun 
boats  down  the  river  in  safety  now  emboldened 
General  Grant  to  transfer  his  armies  south  of 
Vicksburg,  and  march  to  the  attack  of  Vicksburg 
in  the  rear.  On  the  30th  of  April,  his  army,  hav 
ing  gone  down  on  the  west  side  of  the  river, 
crossed  and  landed  at  Port  Gibson,  and  commenced 
its  march  to  Vicksburg.  The  Confederates  were 
overpowered,  and  forced  to  fall  back,  and  were  de 
feated  in  several  severe  engagements.  One  Federal 
column  took  possession  of  Jackson,  the  capital  of 
the  State  of  Mississippi,  and  burned  and  pillaged 
the  town  in  a  most  shameful  manner.  They  gut 
ted  the  stores,  and  destroyed  what  they  could  not 
carry  off.  Burned  the  Koman  Catholic  Church,  the 
principal  hotel,  and  many  other  buildings. 

Seeing  the  danger  in  which  Vicksburg  now 
stood,  General  Jos.  E.  Johnston  tried  to  organize 
an  army  for  its  relief,  but  he  was  not  successful 
General  Pemberton,  the  commander  of  the  Con 
federate  forces  in  Vicksburg,  was  now  compelled 


288  THE   SIEGE   OF   VICKSBUKG. 

to  fall  back  to  his  defences,  and  await  General 
Grant's  siege.  In  the  mean  time,  Grant  drew  hia 
lines  tighter  and  tighter  around  the  fated  city. 
He  made  an  effort  to  carry  it  by  storm,  but  was 
beaten  back  with  terrible  loss. 

The  condition  of  the  city,  however,  was  becom 
ing  every  day  more  fearful.  Food  was  becoming 
scarcer  and  scarcer.  Women  and  children  were 
compelled  to  live  in  caves  to  escape  being  killed  by 
the  bombshells  that  were  continually  bursting 
about  them.  This  could  not  last  always.  General 
Johnston  could  not  raise  an  army  strong  enough  to 
attack  General  Grant  in  the  rear,  so  that  there 
was  but  one  thing  for  General  Pemberton  to  do. 
He  must  surrender.  It  was  a  terrible  ordeal,  but 
there  was  no  escape.  So  on  the  3d  of  July,  Gen 
eral  Pemberton  proposed  an  armistice,  and  on  the 
following  day,  surrendered  his  army  as  prisoners 
of  war,  to  be  allowed  to  go  to  their  homes,  but  not 
to  serve  again,  unless  regularly  exchanged.  The 
officers  were  allowed  to  retain  their  side-arms  and 
their  servants. 

This  was  a  terrible  blow  to  the  Confederates. 
They  lost  over  20,000  prisoners,  guns,  military 
supplies,  &c.,  besides  the  control  of  the  Mississippi 
River.  General  Pemberton  was  greatly  blamed 
for  his  alleged  bad  management. 

There  was,  indeed,  one  place  further  South, 
Port  Hudson,  under  General  Frank  Gardner, 
which  still  held  out.  In  March,  as  I  have  stated, 
Admiral  Farragut  had  attacked  it,  but  was  repulsed 
with  the  loss  of  the  Mississippi,  one  of  the  largest 


THE   SIEGE    OF    VICKSBUKG.  2€9 

vessels  in  the  Federal  Navy.  General  Banks,  who 
now  commanded  at  New  Orleans  in  place  of  Gene 
ral  Butler;  had  also  attacked  it  twice  ;  but  as  large 
portions  of  his  troops  were  negroes,  the  Confed 
erates  had  easy  work  in  whipping  them.  The 
abolitionists  tried  to  make  the  world  believe  that 
the  negro  troops  fought  bravely  at  Port  Hud 
son,  but  it  is  not  so.  They  were  forced  into  a 
bad  position,  where  they  were  mowed  down  merci 
lessly. 

Of  course,  after  the  fall  of  Vicksburg,  General 
Gardner  saw  that  all  attempt  to  hold  out  longer 
would  be  fruitless.  So  he  surrendered  to  General 
Banks. 

The  Mississippi  Kiver  was  now  open  from  its 
source  to  its  mouth.  Its  loss  to  the  Confederates 
was  mainly  owing  to  the  fact  that  it  cut  them  off 
from  Texas,  whence  they  received  many  supplies, 
and  opened  a  large  extent  of  country  to  the  van 
dalism  and  plundering  of  the  abolitionists. 

These  outrages  upon  private  property  are  the 
great  stigma  upon  the  Northern  army,  or  rather 
upon  the  Northern  generals  ;  for  soldiers  are  not 
expected  to  understand  the  rules  of  war.  A  lady, 
writing  of  her  treatment  by  Grant's  army,  says  : 
"  They  loaded  themselves  with  our  clothing,  broke 
my  dishes,  stole  my  knives  and  forks,  broke  open 
my  trunks,  closets,  and,  finally,  burned  our  gin- 
house  and  press,  with  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
bales  of  cotton,  six  hundred  bushels  of  corn,  six 
stacks  of  fodder,  a  fine  spinning  machine,  and  five 
hundred  dollars  worth  of  thread,  &c.,  &c."  Such 


290  THE    SIEGE    OF   VICKSBUKGk 

recitals  really  make  the  heart  sick,  and  yet  this  is 
only  one  out  of  a  thousand  such  instances, 

I  will  give  one  more  ;  for  this  is  a  case  in  which 
the  parties  were  personally  known  to  the  writer. 

A  few  miles  back  of  Yicksburg  lived  a  rich 
planter,  whose  accomplished  wife  was  a  daughter  of 
one  of  the  wealthiest  and  most  respectable  citizens 
of  the  State  of  Connecticut.  This  family  had  re 
mained  quiet  upon  the  plantation  during  the  war, 
and  although  naturally  and  justly  sympathizing 
with  the  South  in  its  wrongs,  had  taken  no  active 
part  in  the  strife.  The  planter  was  a  man  of  great 
wealth,  and  was  very  happy  in  the  society  of  a  re 
fined  and  happy  family. 

A  few  days  after  the  fall  of  Yicksburg,  one  of 
Grant's  regiments,  while  on  a  plundering  tour,  came 
across  this  peaceful  and  unoffending  planter  and 
his  family.  The  soldiers  at  once  entered  the  house 
and  commenced  to  steal  every  article  of  value 
which  they  could  lay  their  hands  upon.  They  tore 
the  lady's  watch  from  her  bosom,  and  the  rings 
from  her  fingers.  There  was  not  a  work-box,  nor 
a  bureau  drawer  in  the  house  that  was  not  rifled. 
Every  article  of  wardrobe  belonging  to  the  lady 
and  her  little  girls  was  stolen.  Even  the  shoes 
and  stockings  were  taken  from  her  own  and  her 
children's  feet.  Eamily  miniatures  were  taken,  for 
their  gold  settings.  Not  so  much  as  a  silver  tea 
spoon  escaped  the  vigilance  of  these  abolition 
thieves. 

Every  article  of  food,  even  to  the  last  pound  of 
pork  in  the  house,  was  also  stolen.  In  vain  the 


THE   SIEGE    OP    VICKSBUBG.  291 

lady  entreated  the  wretches  to  leave  her  some 
food  for  her  children.  The  only  answer  she  re* 
ceived  was  the  most  brutal  oaths,  with  threats  that 
they  would  "  bayonet  the  brats  unless  she  held  her 
tongue."  After  they  had  swept  the  house  of  every 
article  of  value,  they  went  to  the  barn  and  stole 
several  horses,  and  all  the  cows  ;  and  there  being 
several  hogs,  which,  as  they  could  not  drive  them 
off,  they  stuck  their  bayonets  through,  and  left  them 
dead  in  the  yard  ! 

They  drove  off  all  the  negroes,  except  two  old 
females  who  were  too  feeble  to  travel.  So  unwill 
ing  were  some  of  these  negroes  to  leave  the  planta 
tion  that  they  had  to  tie  them  together,  and  threaten 
to  bayonet  them,  and  thus  forced  them  away  under 
kicks  and  blows.  A  short  time  after  the  pillage  of 
this  plantation  the  estimable  lady  died  of  a  fever 
brought  on  by  the  fright  and  hardship  to  which 
she  had  been  exposed  ;  and  in  a  few  days  more  her 
youngest  child,  an  infant,  followed  her  to  the 
grave.  Her  surviving  daughters  are  now  with 
their  grand-parents  in  Connecticut.  They  will 
grow  up  to  hate  the  name  of  an  abolitionist,  as  they 
will  that  of  a  fiend.  So,  in  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  broken  hearts  all  over  the  land,  the  name  of 
abolitionism  will  be  coupled  with  thief,  robber  and 
murderer  as  long  as  time  shall  last. 

The  driving  off  negroes  from  the  plantations  was 
no  uncommon  occurrence  throughout  the  South. 
The  negro  is  naturally  very  much  attached  to  his 
home,  and  when  the  abolition  officers  came  among 
them  and  told  them  they  were  free  to  leave  their 


292  THE    SIEGE    OF    VICKSBURQ. 

masters  and  they  did  not  do  so,  they  often  became 
very  angry  with  them,  and  compelled  them  to  enjoy 
what  they  called  "the  blessings  of  freedom." 
These  "  blessings,"  it  has  been  proved,  consisted 
mainly  of  "  disease  and  death." 

The  Hon.  Mr.  Doolittle  of  Wisconsin,  an  aboli 
tion  Senator  in  Congress,  has  stated  that  good 
judges  estimate  that  one  million  of  negroes  have 
perished  since  the  war  began,  and  appalled  by 
those  facts,  Mr.  Doolittle,  like  an  honorable  and 
humane  man,  is  disposed  to  pause  and  reflect  before 
he  endorses  further  inhumanity  towards  these  in 
nocent  and  suffering  people. 


CHAPTEE  XXXYH. 

THE   NAVAL  DEFEAT  OFF  CHARLESTON GENERAL  GILL- 

MORE'S  REPULSE. 

No  place  liad  been  such  an  eyesore  to  the  aboli 
tionists  as  the  hated  city  of  Charleston.  They 
regarded  it  as  "  the  cradle  of  the  rebellion"  and 
had  vowed  all  sorts  of  vengeance  upon  it,  even  to 
blotting  it  out  forever  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 
Several  efforts  had  been  made  to  reduce  it.  Gen 
eral  Hunter  had  felt  of  it  and  came  away  satisfied. 
The  truth  was,  that  General  Beauregard,  who  had 
planned  its  defences,  was  one  of  the  ablest  military 
engineers  in  the  world,  and  it  had  been  made  well 
nigh  impregnable.  Strong  forts  had  been  built  to 
guard  all  its  approaches  and  the  chief  channel  had 
been  obstructed  by  rows  of  piles,  among  which 
were  scattered  numerous  torpedoes. 

Chagrined  at  their  repeated  defeats  to  take  the 
city  the  abolitionists  finally  conceived  the  bar 
barous  idea  of  destroying  the  harbor  of  Charles 
ton  by  sinking  in  the  channel  a  large  number  of 
vessels  laden  with  stones !  The  strong  current  of 
the  water,  however,  made  another  channel  just  as 
good  as  the  old  one,  so  that  this  piece  of  abolition 
malignity  miscarried. 

It  would  not  do,  however,  to  let  this  little  city 


294         THE    NAVAL   DEFEAT    OFF   CHARLESTON. 

thus  defy  the  power  of  the  whole  North.  So  Mr. 
Lincoln's  Naval  Department  went  to  work  and 
built  a  large  number  of  iron-clad  vessels  at  the 
expense  of  many  millions  of  dollars,  for  the  reduc 
tion  of  Charleston.  On  the  7th  day  of  April,  1863, 
they  steamed  up  the  harbor  very  gaily,  under  the 
command  of  Admiral  Dupont,  who,  no  doubt, 
thought  the  city  would  fall  soon  into  his  hands. 

But  in  this  he  was  mistaken,  for  the  Confed 
erates  opened  upon  him  from  all  their  batteries 
and  rained  such  a  torrent  of  shot  and  shell  upon 
his  fleet  that  he  was  glad  to  beat  a  hasty  retreat. 
So  thick  was  this  iron-hail  that  as  many  as  one 
hundred  and  sixty  shots  were  counted  in  a  minute ! 
The  Keokuk  was  sunk  and  over  half  of  the  fleet 
were  more  or  less  disabled.  The  flag-ship,  the 
Ironsides,  was  rendered  helpless.  No  injury  had 
been  done  to  the  Confederates  whatever,  so  that 
all  this  vast  preparation  and  expenditure  of  money 
had  amounted  to  nothing. 

The  abolition  Government  at  Washington  now 
resolved  to  try  the  effect  of  a  formidable  land-force, 
and  General  Quincy  A.  Gillmore  was  entrusted 
with  the  command.  It  was  declared  that  Fort 
Suniter  must  be  taken  at  all  hazards.  So  in  July 
General  Gillmore  with  a  large  army  began  the 
siege  of  Charleston.  He  landed  on  Morris  Island 
and  tried  to  take  Fort  Wagner,  a  strong  Confed 
erate  work  on  the  north  end  of  the  island,  but  was 
terribly  repulsed  and  glad  to  abandon  the  job. 

Gillmore  finding  he  could  not  succeed  in  this 
way  fell  back  on  siege  operations.  He  got  an  im- 


GENERAL  GILLMORE'S  REPULSE.  295 

mense  cannon  that  would  carry  a  ball  five  miles, 
and  calling  it  the  "  Swamp  Angel"  set  it  to  work, 
throwing  shell  right  into  the  city  of  Charleston 
among  the  women  and  children  and  hospitals  con 
taining  the  sick.  When  General  Beauregard  pro 
tested  against  this  violation  of  civilized  warfare, 
G-illmore  told  him  very  insolently  to  remove  his 
women  and  children  and  sick  out  of  Charleston. 

This  pleased  the  abolitionists  of  the  North  very 
much,  for  they  never  seemed  so  happy  as  when 
some  one  of  their  Generals  was  performing  some 
act  of  brutality. 

General  Gillmore  fired  away  for  weeks  and 
weeks,  until  finally  the  Confederates  abandoned 
Fort  Wagner  and  all  of  Morris  Island.  No  effort 
had  been  spared  to  reduce  Fort  Sumter,  and  on 
the  24th  of  August  General  Gillmore  telegraphed 
that  it  was  a  "shapeless  and  harmless  mass  of 
ruins."  If  this  were  so  it  only  need  to  be  occupied, 
but  "  shapeless"  as  it  was  the  Confederates,  under 
Major  Elliot,  still  held  it. 

However,  Admiral  Dahlgren,  now  naval  com 
mander  in  Charleston  Harbor,  made  a  demand  on 
General  Beauregard,  on  the  7th  of  September,  for 
its  surrender.  The  General,  in  his  most  polite 
French  style,  sent  word  to  Mr.  Dahlgren  "  to  come 
and  take  it." 

The  Admiral  determined  to  do  so  ;  and,  accord 
ingly,  on  the  very  next  night,  sent  off  an  expedition 
of  some  twenty  small  boats  and  five  hundred  men 
to  take  it  by  surprise !  Major  Elliot,  however,  waa 
not  the  man  to  be  taken  by  surprise.  He  saw  the 


296  GENERAL  GILLMORE'S  REPULSE. 

approaching  expedition,  and  reserving  his  fira 
until  the  enemy  were  within  a  few  yards  of  the 
fort,  he  fired  into  them  a  devouring  fire.  Instantly 
the  bay  was  lighted  with  signals,  and  all  the  Con 
federate  batteries  opened  upon  the  barges.  Some 
of  the  men  gained  the  parapet  of  the  fort ;  many 
fell  in  trying  to  scale  the  wall ;  some  were 
drowned,  and  the  balance  were  glad  enough  to  get 
away. 

The  Confederates  did  not  lose  a  man,  but  cap 
tured  five  boats,  over  a  hundred  prisoners,  and 
five  flags,  one  of  them  said  to  have  been  the  iden 
tical  flag  that  Major  Anderson  had  lowered  in 
1861,  and  which  Admiral  Dahlgren  felt  so  sure  he 
was  going  to  raise  on  this  occasion. 

The  abolition  authorities  pretended  to  continue 
the  siege  after  this,  but  it  was  virtually  abandoned. 
The  northern  people  got  sick  of  hearing  about 
Charleston.  It  had  been  taken  so  many  times, 
and  Fort  Sumter  had  been  captured  so  often,  that 
it  became  a  standing  joke. 

Unquestionably  its  defence  had  been  one  of  the 
most  gallant  and  noble  on  record. 


CHAPTEE  XXXVUL 

GENERAL   MOKGAIN's   RAH)  INTO   THE   WEST — THE   BATTLB 
OF   CHICKAMAUGA. 

WE  must  now  return  to  the  West,  and  notice 
the  closing  events  of  the  year  1863  in  that  section. 
General  John  H.  Morgan,  the  bold  cavalry  man, 
whose  exploits  we  have  already  mentioned,  had 
gathered  together  a  force  of  two  thousand  mount 
ed  men,  and  four  pieces  of  artillery,  and  on  the 
4th  of  July  started  on  an  expedition  into  Indiana 
and  Ohio. 

He  advanced  very  rapidly ;  and  on  the  8th  of 
July,  after  throwing  the  cities  of  Louisville  and 
Cincinnati  into  a  great  fright,  he  stood  upon  the 
soil  of  Indiana.  He  rode  rapidly  through  the 
State,  destroying  railroads,  government  stores, 
&c.,  and  struck  the  Ohio  line  at  a  place  called 
Harrison.  By  this  time  thousands  of  armed  men 
were  in  pursuit  of  him,  and  finding  himself  hotly 
pursued,  he  tried  to  cross  the  Ohio  Eiver  near 
Belleville.  Part  of  his  command  succeeded  in  do 
ing  so,  but  a  good  number  were  taken  prisoners. 
Morgan  himself,  with  a  few  trusty  followers,  suc 
ceeded  in  cutting  their  way  out,  but  were  pur- 


290    GENERAL   MORGAN'S    EAID    LNftO    T1IE   WEST. 

sued,  and,  finally,  being  surrounded  near  Wells- 
ville,  surrendered. 

It  was  thought  by  the  abolitionists  a  terrible 
thing  for  the  Confederates  to  invade  the  North, 
though  all  right  for  the  North  to  invade  the  South. 
General  Morgan  and  his  command  were  denounced 
as  "  felons"  and  "  murderers  ;"  and,  though  I  think 
that  his  expedition  was  a  reckless  and  even  fool 
hardy  one,  for  he  was  going  into  a  populous  coun 
try,  where  the  people  for  self-defence  would  be 
compelled  to  concentrate  and  cut  him  off,  yet  it 
was  not  so  criminal  as  the  abolition  raid  upon 
the  South,  for  it  had  the  fact  of  retaliation  to 
justify  it. 

Not  so,  however,  thought  the  abolitionists.  It 
was  their  ox  that  was  gored  now,  and  in  their  rage 
they  refused  to  regard  General  Morgan  as  a 
prisoner  of  war,  and  sent  him  and  twenty-eight  of 
his  officers  to  the  Ohio  Penitentiary.  Here  they 
were  subjected  to  every  possible  indignity.  First 
they  were  stripped  naked  and  washed  by  negroes. 
Then  their  hair  was  cut  off  close  to  the  scalp. 
After  which  they  were  put  in  solitary  confinement. 

General  Morgan,  however,  was  not  idle  in 
prison.  On  the  20th  of  November,  he  and  six  of 
his  officers  escaped.  They  had  dug  out  of  their 
cells  with  small  knives,  after  weeks  and  week?  of 
patient  toil.  He  left  this  motto  behind  for  his 
abolition  tormentors,  "Patience  is  bitter,  but  its 
fruit  is  sweet." 

After  the  escape  of  General  Morgan,  the  rest  ^f 
the  prisoners  were  treated  with  still  greater  rigor 


THE   BATTLE    OF    CHICKAMATJGA.  299 

Their  food  consisted  of  only  three  ounces  of  bread 
and  a  pint  of  water  per  day !  When  the  physician 
remonstrated  with  their  brutal  jailer,  the  wretch 
replied,  "  They  do  not  talk  right  yet."  He  went 
into  the  cell  to  taunt  one  of  them,  Major  Webber 
"  Sir,"  said  the  Major,  I  defy  you.  You  can  kill 
me,  but  you  can  add  nothing  to  the  sufferings  you 
have  already  inflicted." 

The  spirit  of  these  men  was  unconquerable,  even 
in  their  direst  calamity. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  after  the  battle  of 
Murfreesboro,  between  General  Bragg  and  Gene 
ral  Eosecrans,  that  the  Confederate  forces  had 
fallen  back  to  Tullahoma. 

After  the  fall  of  Vicksburg,  of  course,  troops 
could  be  spared  to  reinforce  Eosecrans.  It  was 
soon  ascertained  that  General  Eosecrans  with 
70,000  men  and  General  Burnside  with  25,000 
were  concentrating  against  General  Bragg.  Burn- 
side  was  covering  General  Eosecrans'  rear  by  oc 
cupying  Knoxville.  In  the  meantime  Cumberland 
Gap  was  surrendered  by  the  Confederate  com 
mander  without  firing  a  shot. 

General  Eosecrans  now  had  all  his  plans  matured 
for  a  grand  battle.  So  on  the  19th  of  September 
he  opened  the  great  battle  of  Chickamauga.  The 
first  day  was  little  more  than  heavy  skirmishing, 
but  on  the  20th  the  battle  opened  with  tremendous 
fury.  Bragg  had  been  reinforced  with  Longstreet's 
corps  from  General  Lee's  army,  and  never  was  a 
battle-field  more  hotly  contested.  At  length,  late 
in  the  evening,  the  Confederates  made  one  of  their 
2*1 


300  THE    BATTLE    OF    CHICKAMAUGA 

sweeping  charges  and  carried  everything  before 
them.  Eosecrans  was  not  only  defeated  but  routed, 
and  had  it  not  been  for  the  coolness  of  General 
Thomas  his  whole  army  would  probably  have  been 
captured.  As  it  was,  it  fled  in  dismay  to  Chatta 
nooga  where  it  had  entrenchments.  General  Bragg 
took  8000  prisoners,  64  cannon  and  15,000  stand 
of  small  arms.  It  was  one  of  the  most  decisive 
Confederate  victories  of  the  war. 

Poor  General  Eosecrans !  The  battle  also  ended 
his  military  career.  The  abolitionists  had  now 
made  it  a  rule  to  depose  every  General  who  lost  a 
battle,  and  Eosecrans,  who  is  believed  to  be  a  pretty 
good  military  man,  was  now  sacrificed  to  their 
clamor. 

General  Grant  was  now  appointed  to  the  com 
mand  of  the  Mississippi  Department.  He  com 
menced  at  once  his  old  plan  of  superior  numbers. 
He  brought  two  corps  from  the  Army  of  the  Poto 
mac,  and  called  General  Sherman,  with  the  Vicks- 
burg  army,  from  Memphis.  General  Bragg  on 
the  contrary  did  just  the  reverse  of  this.  He  sent 
General  Longstreet  off  on  an  expedition  to  take 
Knoxville. 

General  Grant  at  once  availed  himself  of  this 
mistake  and  commenced  his  plans  to  defeat  Gen 
eral  Bragg.  After  a  good  deal  of  maneuvering  OK 
both  sides  the  battle  of  Missionary  Eidge  was 
fought,  on  the  24th  of  November,  in  which  General 
Bragg  was  defeated  with  the  loss  of  6000  prisoners 
and  40  cannon. 

In  the  meantime  General  Longstreet  had  had 


THE   BATTLE    OF    CHICK  AMAUGA,    ETC.  SOI 

bad  luck  on  his  Knoxville  ~  expedition.  General 
Burnside  was  strongly  fortified  there,  and  though 
Longstreet  made  a  gallant  assault  upon  him  he 
was  not  strong  enough  to  take  his  forts.  In  the 
meantime,  as  soon  as  Grant  had  defeated  Bragg, 
he  sent  reinforcements  to  Burnside,  who  then  as- 
Bumed  the  offensive,  and  Longstreet  was  compelled 
to  retire  towards  the  Virginia  line. 

This  ended  the  principal  military  events  of 
1863. 

There  had  been  some  skirmishing  between  Gen 
erals  Lee  and  Meade  in  Virginia,  and  once  General 
Meade  started  out  with  a  great  nourish  of  trumpets 
to  capture  Lee's  army.  But  after  marching  a  day 
or  two  and  taking  a  look  at  it,  he  was  glad  to  fall 
back. 

At  Sabine  Pass,  the  dividing  line  between 
Louisiana  and  Texas,  the  Confederates  had 
achieved  a  brilliant  little  naval  victory.  Five 
Federal  gun-boats  steamed  up  the  Pass,  and  were 
opened  upon  by  the  Confederate  batteries.  Two 
of  them  were  captured,  and  the  others  beat  a 
hasty  retreat. 

Generals  Marmaduke  and  Sterling  Price  had 
also  made  efforts  to  gain  a  foothold  in  Missouri, 
and  engagements  had  taken  place  at  Springfield, 
Missouri,  and  Helena,  Arkansas,  but  the  loss  of 
life  was  of  no  avail.  General  Steele  had  been 
sent  into  Arkansas  with  a  strong  force  and  had 
taken  Little  Rock,  the  base  of  the  Confederate 
supplies.  This  secured  Missouri,  for  the  time, 
against  further  invasion. 


802  THE   BATTLE    OF   CHICK AMAUGA,   ETC. 

When  Congress  met  in  December,  1863,  it  made 
General  Grant  Lieutenant-General  of  the  armies 
of  the  United  States.  His  success  at  Vicksburg 
and  Missionary  Ridge  had  made  mm  the  hero  of 
the  hour. 


GEN.   ULYSSES  S.   GRANT. 

Page  302. 


CHAPTEK  XXXIX. 

THE    CONFEDERATE   NAVY    AND    PRIVATEERS. 

ONE  of  the  greatest  difficulties  the  Confederates 
labored  under  from  the  beginning  was  their  want 
of  a  Navy.  Almost  all  the  abolition  successes  at 
the  commencement  of  the  war  were  owing  to  gun 
boats.  The  South  had  never  been  a  mechanica* 
or  manufacturing  people,  but  had  yielded  all  these 
advantages  to  the  North,  content  to  pursue  their 
course  as  planters  and  farmers.  They  saw  now, 
when  their  social  life  was  in  danger,  how  import 
ant  these  vocations  were  to  their  defence. 

Lincoln  declared  a  blockade  of  all  Southern 
ports  and  the  North  exerted  every  effort  to  make 
it  effectual.  President  Davis  tried  to  overcome 
somewhat  of  the  inequality  between  his  people  and 
the  North  by  issuing  letters  of  marque,  that  is,  he 
commissioned  privateers,  just  as  our  fathers  did  in 
the  wars  of  1776  and  1812  against  Great  Britain. 
This  has  always  been  held  to  be  legitimate  war 
fare,  and  yet  the  abolitionists  styled  the  Confed 
erate  privateers  "  pirates,"  and  said  they  would  not 
treat  them  as  prisoners  of  war.  When,  however, 
they  captured  some  they  never  dared  to  carry  their 
threats  into  effect.  If  the  Confederate  cruisers 
were  "  pirates"  then  Paul  Jones  and  thousands  of 


304      THE  OONFEDEBATE  NAVY  AND  PRIVATEEKS. 

the  heroes  of  1776  were  pirates  also.  But  such 
trash  ought  to  deceive  no  one. 

One  of  the  most  gallant  and  startling  events  of 
the  war  was  the  sudden  attack  of  the  iron-clad 
ship  Virginia  on  the  Federal  fleet  in  Hampton 
Eoads  in  1862.  This  vessel  was  formerly  the  U.  S. 
frigate  Merrimac.  She  had  been  sunk  by  the  Fed 
erals  in  1861  at  Norfolk  when  they  abandoned  the 
Navy  Yard  at  that  place.  The  Confederates  raised 
her,  changed  her  name  to  the  Virginia  and  plated 
her  over  the  top  like  an  ark,  with  railroad  iron. 
It  was  the  first  iron-clad  vessel  the  world  had 
ever  known. 

On  the  8th  of  March  she  steamed  out  of  Norfolk 
Harbor.  The  United  States  had  four  vessels  in 
Hampton  Roads,  the  Minnesota  and  Roanoke,  large 
steamers,  and  the  Cumberland  and  Congress,  sail 
ing  vessels. 

On  she  came,  that  queer-looking  black  ark,  tak 
ing  no  heed,  to  the  right  or  the  left.  She  steered 
directly  for  the  Cumberland.  The  Congress  fired 
a  broadside  into  her,  but  the  balls  danced  from 
her  sloping  sides  like  hail-stones.  When  she 
came  within  range  of  the  Cumberland,  that  vessel 
opened  her  guns  upon  her.  But  in  vain.  Her 
iron  armor  was  invulnerable.  The  Virginia  did 
not  fire  a  shot.  But  with  her  monster  iron  prow 
now  plainly  visible  made  direct  for  the  Cumber 
land.  Crash !  went  the  timbers,  and  soon  down, 
down  went  the  Cumberland  with  all  on  board. 

The  Virginia  then  turned  to  the  Congress.  But 
the  commander  of  that  vessel,  fearing  the  fate 


CONFEDERATE    NAVY    AND    PRIVATEERS.        305 

of  the  Cumberland,  ran  her  ashore.  She  then 
steamed  for  the  Minnesota,  but  that  vessel  had  got 
aground,  and  the  Virginia  could  not  reach  her. 
She  fired  some  shots  into  her  without  effect,  and, 
as  night  was  now  coming  on,  she  steamed  back  to 
Norfolk. 

The  next  day  the  Virginia  came  out  and  con 
fronted  the  Monitor,  a  new  species  of  war  vessel 
invented  by  a  Mr.  John  Ericsson.  This  vessel  has 
been  described  as  "  an  iron  cheese  box  set  on  an 
iron  raft,  and  the  whole  set  on  a  light  hull  shaped 
like  a  bark  canoe."  The  fight  between  these  two 
strange  vessels  lasted  several  hours,  without  any 
material  damage  to  either.  At  last  the  Virginia 
returned  to  Norfolk.  She  had  twisted  her  prow 
in  sinking  the  Cumberland,  or  else  the  little  Moni 
tor  might  not  have  got  off  so  easily.  The  com 
mander  of  the  Virginia,  Franklin  Buchanan,  was 
wounded,  and  afterwards  she  was  placed  under 
the  command  of  the  gallant  and  noble  Commodore 
Tatnall. 

Both  of  these  vessels  finally  ended  their  career 
without  further  glory.  The  little  Monitor  went 
down  in  a  gale  off  Hatteras,  while  the  Confed 
erates  were  compelled  to  blow  up  the  Virginia 
when  they  evacuated  Norfolk,  as  she  drew  too 
much  water  to  take  her  up  the  James  River. 

Notwithstanding  all  the  drawbacks  under  which 
the  Confederate  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Mr.  Mai- 
lory,  labored,  it  must  be  confessed  he  tad  achieved 
great  results.  He  had  been  chairman  of  the  Naval 


306        CONFEDERATE    WAVY    AND    PRIVATEERS. 

Committee  in  the  U.  S.  Senate  for  many  years,  and 
his  experience  there  was  invaluable  to  him. 

In  the  short  space  of  two  years  he  had  pur 
chased  and  equipped  forty-five  war  vessels  ;  had 
built  twelve  wooden  and  fourteen  iron-clad  ves 
sels,  besides  haying  in  progress  of  construction 
twenty  more. 

Several  privateers,  too,  had  been  fitted  out,  and 
had  done  great  damage  to  Northern  commerce. 
And  yet,  though  Great  Britain  and  France  recog 
nized  the  Confederate  States  as  belligerents,  that 
is,  as  a  government  in  fact,  they  refused  to  allow 
their  vessels  to  take  prizes,  that  is,  captured  ships, 
into  neutral  ports. 

This  was  a  serious  drawback  upon  the  Confed 
erate  cruisers,  for  it  left  them  no  course  but  to 
destroy  the  captured  vessels.  An  immense  num 
ber  of  Northern  ships  were  thus  destroyed. 

One  of  the  first  vessels  got  afloat  by  the  Confed 
erates  was  the  Sumter,  under  the  command  of  Ad 
miral  Raphael  Semmes.  Then  came  the  Florida, 
and  afterwards  the  Alabama  and  Georgia.  The 
abolitionists  charged  that  all  these  vessels  were 
fitted  out  with  the  knowledge  and  connivance  of 
the  English  Government,  for  the  purpose  of  driv 
ing  all  A-mp.rip.fl.Ti  ships  from  the  sea. 

It  is  impossible  to  say  whether  such  was  the  fact 
or  not:  But  certain  it  is  it  had  that  effect.  No 
Northern  man  scarcely  dared  to  send  a  ship  to  sea, 
for  the  Sumter,  or  the  Alabama,  or  Florida,  was 
pretty  sure  to  pounce  upon  her  and  destroy  her. 
Sometimes  when  one  of  these  saucy  Confederate 


CONFEDEBATE   NAVY    AND   PBFV ATEEBS.        307 

ciuisers  would  approach  our  coasts,  whole  squad 
rons  of  vessels  would  start  out  to  catch  her,  but 
after  a  fruitless  search  would  return  home  as  wise 
as  they  went. 

It  would  require  a  good  deal  of  space  to  detail 
all  the  movements  of  these  daring  Confederate 
privateers.  Sometimes  they  would  be  heard  of  in 
the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  the  next  time  they  were 
heard  from,  they  would  be  in  the  Indian  Ocean, 
or  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  or  in  the  China  Seas, 
or  the  South  Atlantic.  They  gave  the  North  an 
infinite  deal  of  trouble.  Finally,  the  Alabama, 
while  under  the  command  of  Admiral  Semmes, 
engaged  in  a  fight  with  the  United  States  steamer 
Kearsarge,  Captain  Winslow.  The  Kearsarge  was 
too  much  for  her,  and  she  was  sunk.  But  Admiral 
Semmes  escaped,  and  was  picked  up  by  an  English 
vessel  and  taken  to  England.  This  escape  of 
Semmes  made  the  abolitionists  ^very  mad,  and  to 
tell  the  truth,  I  think  they  have  owed  him  a  grea* 
grudge  ever  since. 

The  Confederates  at  last  tried  to  build  two  large 
iron-clad  rams  in  England,  with  which  they  ex 
pected  to  be  able  to  break  the  blockade.  But  the 
earnest  efforts  made  by  Mr.  Adams,  the  abolition 
minister  in  England,  induced  Earl  Eussell  to  seize 
them,  though  it  is  said  it  was  done  on  suspicion, 
and  not  from  any  valid  evidence  that  they  were 
destined  for  the  Confederates. 

This  was  after  Lincoln  had  issued  his  so-called 
Emancipation  Proclamation,  Before  that  the 
British  Government  seemed  disposed  to  favor  the 


308        CONFEDEKATE   NAVY   AND    PRIVATEERS. 

Confederates.  But  after  Mr.  Lincoln  made  the 
war  distinctly  for  negro  equality,  then  the  mon 
archists  in  England  looked  upon  Mr.  Lincoln  aa 
simply  carrying  out  their  policy  on  this  conti 
nent,  and  were  disposed  to  favor  him.  Indeed 
the  abolition  papers  openly  stated  that  the  United 
States  Government  could  not  receive  the  sympathy 
of  the  monarchical  countries  of  Europe  until  they 
came  out  distinctly  for  abolitionism. 

This,  no  doubt,  accounts  for  the  change  in  the 
course  of  the  British  ministry.  They  ignored  the 
Treaty  of  Paris,  which  requires  that  a  blockade 
in  order  to  be  binding  shall  be  effectual.  But  it 
was  notorious  that  the  Confederates  always  had 
more  or  less  egress  and  ingress  from  their  ports. 
At  one  time  the  steamers  ran  almost  regularly 
from  Charleston  and  Wilmington. 

It  has  been  well  said  that  the  South  not  only 
fought  the  North,  but  the  whole  world,  leagued 
together  in  deadly  warfare  against  the  democratic 
and  republican  principles  of  liberty.  The  mon 
archists  of  Europe  knew  that  to  degrade  whites  to 
a  level  with  negroes  was  the  first  step  for  the 
re-establishment  of  monarchical  institutions  in 
America.  It  was,  in  fact,  the  secret  mine  under 
neath  the  government  of  George  Washington, 
which  would  blow  it  to  atoms. 


CHAPTEK   XL. 

EVENTS    IN   THE    NOETH  IN   1863. 

I  CANNOT  dismiss  the  events  of  the  year  1863 
without  referring  to  political  affairs  in  the  North, 
for  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  all  the  time  that 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  carrying  on  two  wars,  one  against 
the  South  and  the  other  against  everybody  in  the 
North  who  had  the  independence  and  courage  to 
differ  from  him. 

All  who  did  not  fall  down  and  worship  Mr.  Lin 
coln  were  denounced  as  "  traitors,"  "  Copperheads" 
and  "  rebel  sympathizers,"  and  no  punishment  was 
thought  too  severe  for  them. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1863,  Mr.  Lincoln  issued 
his  long  announced  "  Emancipation  Proclamation." 
In  other  words,  he  declared  in  the  style  of  a 
dictator  that  all  the  negroes  in  the  South  should 
be  "  free"  to  do  as  they  pleased,  to  go  where  they 
pleased,  and  to  be  as  lazy  and  useless  as  they 
pleased.  And  he  declared  that  he  would  use  the 
army  and  navy  of  the  United  States  to  protect  them 
in  these  "  rights."  That  was  a  part  of  the  meaning 
of  this  abolition  Proclamation.  But  it  was  even 
more.  It  really  meant  the  amalgamation  of  the 
races.  It  was  the  first  step  in  the  direction  of  de- 


310  EVENTS    IN   THE   NORTH    IN    1863. 

grading  and  destroying  the  masses  of  the  people 
by  poisoning  them  with  negro  equality. 

This  "  free"  negro  edict  was  followed  by  various 
acts  of  Congress  authorizing  the  use  of  negroes  as 
soldiers  in  the  army.  The  abolitionists  had  been 
clamorous  for  this  from  the  beginning,  and  they 
were  now  having  things  entirely  their  own  way. 
This  use  of  negroes  to  fight  the  South  was  the 
vilest,  meanest  and  most  barbarous  act  of  all  that 
Lincoln  and  Seward  were  guilty  of,  for  it  com 
prehended  all  crimes.  Besides  it  was  a  confession 
that  twenty-five  millions  of  white  men  in  the  North 
could  not  whip  eight  millions  in  the  South. 

But  the  real  object  of  the  abolitionists  was  to 
degrade  the  white  soldiers  to  a  level  with  negroes, 
and  familiarize  the  people  with  their  amalgamation 
policy.  They  got  up  flags  to  present  to  these 
negro  regiments.  Even  women,  calling  themselves 
ladies,  I  am  ashamed  to  say,  were  guilty  of  this 
disgusting  business,  and  in  New  York  they  pre 
sented  a  flag  to  a  negro  regiment  as  a  memento, 
to  use  their  own  words,  "  of  love  and  honor  from 
the  daughters  of  this  metropolis."  This  revolting 
spectacle  actually  took  place  in  Union  Square, 
New  York,  and  the  women  were  "the  fashionables," 
so  called,  of  Fifth  Avenue!  Future  ages  will 
scarcely  be  able  to  believe  that  such  madness 
could  have  existed  among  otherwise  sane  people. 

Lincoln  and  Seward  had  now  completely  thrown 
off  their  masks,  and  openly  falsified  all  their 
solemn  pledges.  It  would  seem  as  if  they  would 
have  broken  down  the  war  by  their  bold  negro 


EVENTS   IN    THE   NORTH    IN   1863.  311 

equality  policy,  but  about  this  time  the  "  greenback 
fever"  began  to  be  felt.  Everybody  was  getting 
rich  on  paper  money.  Most  cunningly  had  the 
finances  of  the  country  been  conducted.  Instead 
of  taxing  the  people  to  carry  on  the  war,  the  aboli* 
tion  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Mr.  Chase,  had 
brought  about  a  general  suspension  of  specie  pay 
ments,  and  issued  paper-money,  which  was  declar 
ed  by  Congress  "  a  legal  tender,"  right  in  the  face 
of  the  Constitution,  which  stated  that  nothing  but 
gold  and  silver  should  be  a  legal  currency. 

This  paper  money  was  issued  in  floods,  and  with 
it  the  North  was  corrupted.  With  it  high  bounties 
were  paid  for  soldiers,  as  volunteering  for  an  abo 
lition  war  was  not  even  thought  of.  True,  some 
of  the  more  reckless  of  the  abolition  journals  said, 
that  as  soon  as  Mr.  Lincoln  issued  his  Emancipa 
tion  Proclamation,  the  roads  would  swarm  with 
volunteers.  But  no  one  saw  them. 

The  effect  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  negro  edict  in  the 
army  was  very  marked.  In  the  winter  of  1863,  the 
soldiers  in  some  instances  were  almost  in  a  state 
of  mutiny.  Their  letters  home  to  their  friends 
were  very  desponding.  Desertions  were  numerous. 
A  young  soldier,  writing  to  his  mother,  January 
10th,  1863,  from  Camp  Slocum,  says  :  "  One  of  the 
sweetest  comforts  of  my  life,  while  lying  on  the  cold 
damp  ground  here,  is  to  hear  from  you.  Mother 
I  tell  you  I  am  sorry  that  I  ever  enlisted.  Not  that 
I  am  afraid  to  fight  for  my  country  ;  no,  no,  I  am 
willing  to  fight  for  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  but  not 
for  the  nigger.  If  I  was  home  again,  I  would 
22 


312  EVENTS    IN    THE    NORTH    IN    1863. 

never  leave  you  until  forced  to  do  so,  by  seeing  the 
rebels  before  our  chestnut  trees." 

This  letter  is  only  a  sample  of  scores  and  scores 
that  I  might  quote,  if  my  space  allowed.  It  is  suf 
ficient  to  show,  however,  that  the  private  soldiers 
knew  how  they  had  been  swindled  by  Lincoln  and 
Seward.  But  it  was  too  late  then  to  remedy  the 
mistake  they  had  made.  Their  officers,  generally, 
kept  a  strict  watch  upon  them  ;  and  some  were 
shot  for  mutiny,  because  they  said  they  did  not 
"  want  to  fight  to  free  negroes.5' 

The  effect  of  the  Lincoln  proclamation  was  very 
great  all  over  the  North,  and  produced  a  decided 
eaction  against  his  Administration  and  the  war. 
But  again  Mr.  Lincoln  resorted  to  every  effort  to 
control  public  opinion,  and  to  try  to  make  it  ap 
pear  that  it  endorsed  him. 

In  April,  an  election  for  Governor  came  off  in 
the  State  of  Connecticut.  The  Democrats  had 
nominated  as  Governor,  Thomas  H.  Seymour.  Now 
Mr.  Lincoln  and  his  party  hated  Gov.  Seymour 
with  all  their  might,  for  he  had  denounced  their 
war  from  the  beginning.  No  man  was  so  beloved 
by  the  Democracy  of  Connecticut.  When  the 
Mexican  war  broke  out,  he  volunteered  to  fight  the 
enemies  of  his  country  ;  and  he  it  was,  who,  at  the 
final  charge  on  Chapultepec,  cut  down  the  Mexi 
can  flag  with  his  sword,  and  raised  the  Stars  and 
Stripes  in  its  place. 

When  Mr.  Lincoln  commenced  his  war  upon  the 
South,  some  abolitionists  in  Hartford  used  Gov. 
Seymour's  name  without  his  consent  at  a  war 


HON.   CLEMENT   L.   VALLANDIGHAM. 


Page  313. 


EYENTS    IN    THE   NORTH    IN    1863.  313 

meeting  ;  but  he  came  out  at  once  in  a  bold  letter 
and  told  them  they  had  no  business  to  do  it.  They 
thought  he  would  not  dare  to  speak  out.  But  they 
mistook  their  man.  They  then  talked  of  mobbing 
him  ;  but  they  knew  there  was  too  much  fight  in 
him,  and  so  the  cowards  kept  away. 

The  Democrats  did  a  good  thing  in  nominating 
him,  and  right  nobly  too  did  they  labor  to  elect 
him.  They  were  sure  of  success  ;  but  Mr.  Lincoln 
thought  it  would  be  a  death-blow  to  him  to  allow 
it,  so  he  sent  home  some  two  or  three  thousand 
soldiers  from  his  army  to  defeat  him.  As  it  turn 
ed  out,  it  was  these  soldiers'  votes  that  defeated 
Mr.  Seymour. 

Early  in  the  year,  General  Burnside  had  been 
appointed  to  the  command  of  "  the  Department  of 
the  Ohio,"  which  included  the  States  of  Ohio,  Ken 
tucky,  Illinois,  and  Indiana.  As  there  were  elec 
tions  for  Governor  to  come  off  in  the  first  two  of 
these  States,  one  in  October  and  the  other  in  Au 
gust,  it  does  not  require  a  good  guesser  to  tell 
what  he  was  sent  there  for. 

He  commenced  his  despotic  cource  by  arresting, 
on  the  5th  of  May,  the  Hon.  Clement  L.  Vallandig- 
ham.  Mr.  Vallandigham  had  been  a  member  of 
Congress  since  1861 ;  and  no  one  did  the  aboli 
tionists  hate  more  cordially  than  he,  and  for  no 
other  reason  than  because  he  opposed  the  policy 
of  Mr.  Lincoln's  Administration.  They  knew  that 
the  Democrats  intended  to  nominate  him  as  their 
candidate  for  Governor,  in  October.  Hence  they 
wanted  to  break  him  down.  So  they  trumped  up 


314  EVENTS   IN   THE    NOKTH    IN  1863. 

charges  that  Mr.  Vallandigham  had  "  talked  trea 
son"  in  some  of  his  speeches,  and  they  tried  him 
before  "  a  military  commission,"  which  sentenced 
him  to  imprisonment.  But  Mr.  Lincoln  did  not 
exactly  dare  to  put  him  in  prison,  for  it  is  doubt 
ful  whether  it  would  not  have  been  torn  down, 
and  Mr.  Vallandigham  released,  so  great  was  the 
indignation  of  the  people.  So  Mr.  Lincoln  thought 
it  was  "  a  smart  joke,"  no  doubt,  and  sent  Mr. 
Vallandigham  across  the  lines  into  the  Confederate 
States. 

Mr.  Vallandigham  quietly  pursued  his  way  to  a 
seaport,  and  sailed  for  Canada,  where  he  remained 
some  time.  He  was  defeated  in  October  for  Gov 
ernor,  though  the  Democrats  made  a  gallant  effort 
to  elect  him.  Mr.  Lincoln's  "  men  and  money" 
were  too  much  for  them.  After  awhile  Mr.  Vallan 
digham  returned  of  his  own  accord  to  Ohio,  de 
spite  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  order  of  exile.  They  at  first 
talked  of  arresting  him  again,  but  did  not  venture 
to  do  it. 

In  Kentucky,  General  Burnside's  "political 
campaign"  was  equally  serviceable.  In  that  State 
the  Democrats  had  nominated  the  venerable  Hon. 
Chas.  A.  Wickliffe,  a  name  known  and  honored 
throughout  the  whole  country.  On  the  30th  of 
July,  just  three  days  before  the  election,  General 
Burnside  declared  martial  law  in  the  State. 
Several  Democrats,  who  were  running  for  Con 
gress,  were  arrested  and  Burnside  ordered  that 
no  "  disloyal  men"  should  be  allowed  to  vote  ; 
but  as  all  Democrats  were  called  "disloyal,"  he 


EVENTS   IN    THE    NOETH     IN    1863.  815 

might  as  well  have  ordered  that  no  Democrats  bo 
allowed  to  vote.     In  some  counties  no  one  was 
permitted  to  cast  a  vote  for  Wickliffe.      The  result 
was  a  defeat,  or  rather  there  was  no  election  held. 
Never  was  there  a  more  complete  overthrow  of  th 
ballot-box.     Shameful  as  it  was,  the  abolitionist 
gloried  over  the  result. 

But  this  does  not  begin  to  exaust  the  chapter 
of  General  Burnside's  tyranny.  All  over  the  West 
there  existed  a  complete  "reign  of  terror."  No 
Democrat's  life  or  property  was  safe,  if  he  dared 
boldly  to  doubt  the  wisdom  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  In 
1862,  after  the  mails  had  been  reopened  to  Demo 
cratic  papers,  a  new  process  had  been  resorted  to, 
to  injure  their  circulation  and  break  them  down. 
It  was  held  that  any  commander  of  a  Department, 
or  provost  marshal,  could  prohibit  the  circulation 
of  any  paper  in  his  district,  which  he  regarded  as 
detrimental.  This,  of  course,  was  an  invitation  to 
every  petty  provost  marshal  to  turn  upon  the 
Democratic  newspapers.  Its  effect  was  also  to 
stimulate  mobs,  and  Democratic  editors  all  over 
the  West  were  insulted  and  outraged,  and  their 
offices  often  destroyed. 

Some  were  killed  for  the  defence  of  the  right  of 
free  speech.  At  Dayton,  Ohio,  the  home  of  Mr. 
Vallandigham,  Mr.  Bollmeyer,  the  editor  of  the 
Dayton  Empire,  was  deliberately  shot  dead  by  a  a 
abolitionist,  and  a  jury  of  his  own  county  actually 
cleared  the  assassin ! 

General  Burnside  also  turned  his  attention  to 
suppressing  newspapers.  On  the  1st  of  June,  he 


316  EVENTS   IN   THE    NORTH    IN    1863. 

issued  an  order  suppressing  the  publication  of  the 
Chicago  Times,  a  leading  Democratic  paper  in  tha 
West,  and  also  one  suppressing  the  circulation  of 
the  New  York  World,  in  his  Department.  In  this 
movement,  General  Burnside  made  the  same  mis 
take  he  did  at  Fredericksburg ;  he  got  whipped. 
The  Democrats  of  Chicago  were  determined  to  be 
fooled  no  longer  by  Mr.  Lincoln's  satraps.  So  the 
editor  of  the  Times,  Mr.  Story,  called  a  meeting  of 
citizens  in  front  of  his  office  to  see  how  the  Demo 
crats  felt  about  it. 

The  upshot  of  the  whole  affair  was,  that  they 
sent  word  to  Mr.  Lincoln  that  if  he  did  not  rescind 
the  order  of  his  man  Burnside,  and  allow  the 
Chicago  Times  to  be  published,  then  there  should 
no  Republican  or  abolition  paper  be  allowed  to  be 
published  in  that  city.  And  the  Democrats  went 
to  work  quietly  and  determinedly  to  carry  out 
their  threat.  Mr.  Lincoln,  however,  backed  down, 
when  he  saw  the  pluck  displayed,  and  so  Mr. 
Burnside  had  all  this  splurge  for  nothing. 

The  interference  of  the  little  provost  marshals, 
however,  continued,  and  for  a  long  time  all  Demo 
cratic  papers  were  denied  circulation  in  Missouri 
and  Kentucky.  Mr.  Lincoln  never  yielded  his 
warfare  on  the  freedom  of  the  press,  only  when 
compelled  to  do  so.  He  seemed  to  feel  by  instinct 
that  he  stood  no  chance  if  free  discussion  waa 
allowed. 

So  greatly  had  the  Democrats  of  the  West  suf 
fered  from  the  minions  of  arbitrary  power,  that 
they  organized  a  society  called  the  "Sons  of 


EVENTS    Itf  THE   NORTH    IN    .863.  317 

Liberty,"  for  self-protection.  But  even  this  was 
used  against  them  ;  for  it  was  denounced  by  the 
abolitionists  as  "  a  secret  organization  to  overthrow 
the  Government/'  and  many  of  its  leaders  were 
arrested  and  cruelly  imprisoned.  Three  of  these, 
Messrs.  Bowles,  Horsey,  and  Milliken,  were  sen 
tenced  to  death  by  a  "  military  commission,"  and 
only  escaped  death  through  the  clemency  of  Presi 
dent  Johnson,  after  his  accession  to  office. 

I  must  now  turn  to  some  remarkable  events 
which  occurred  in  the  city  of  New  York,  in  July. 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  in  great  want  of  soldiers  at  this 
time.  Men  would  not  volunteer  to  fight  to  put 
themselves  011  an  equality  with  negroes.  So  Con 
gress  passed  a  rigorous  conscription  act,  which 
would  compel  men  to  go  whether  they  wanted  to 
or  not.  The  abolitionists  had  hesitated  to  put  it  in 
force,  knowing  how  unpopular  it  was.  Finally, 
after  deceiving  the  people  several  times  by  false 
alarms,  they  suddenly,  one  Saturday  afternoon,  set 
the  fatal  wheel  in  motion. 

Many  citizens  of  New  York  woke  up  on  Sunday 
morning  to  find  their  names  in  Lincoln's  army  list, 
for  every  man  was  declared  a  soldier  from  the  mo 
ment  his  name  was  drawn,  and  liable  to  be  shot  as 
a  deserter  if  he  got  out  of  the  way. 

The  pent-up  wrath  of  the  people  now  broke  out. 
The  war  had  always  been  unpopular  in  New  York 
city,  and  when  the  first  announcement  was  made, 
tliat  the  people  were  resisting  the  draft,  the  great 
est  excitement  occurred.  The  abolitionists  were 
terribly  frightened.  A  good  many  ran  away  from 


318  EVENTS   IN   THE   NOKTH   IN  1863. 

the  city.  Others  hid  themselves.  The  drafted 
men  first  destroyed  the  enrolling  offices,  burning 
them  to  the  ground,  and  came  very  near  killing 
Kennedy,  the  police  superintendent. 

Like  all  popular  outbreaks  of  this  kind,  it  ran 
nto  every  form  of  riot  and  outrage.  The  popular 
Aeeling  seemed  to  regard  with  peculiar  hatred  the 
negro,  as  if  he  were  the  cause  of  the  war  and  all 
the  trouble  resulting  from  it,  while  in  fact  it  was 
the  abolitionists  and  not  the  negro  who  were  re 
sponsible. 

The  rioters  burnt  down  the  Negro  Orphan  Asy 
lum,  hung  negroes  to  the  lamp  posts,  and  some 
times  threw  them  into  the  docks.  Boys  particu 
larly  seemed  to  be  engaged  in  the  rioting.  The 
writer  of  this  was  all  through  the  city  at  all  times 
of  the  day  and  night,  during  the  continuance  of 
the  trouble.  On  one  occasion  he  saw  a  crowd, 
and  asked  a  little  boy  what  it  meant.  "  Oh,  it  is 
nothing  but  a  dead  nigger,"  was  the  reply.  This 
shows  how  callous  to  human  suffering  even  chil 
dren  may  become  in  times  of  war  and  bloodshed. 

These  riots  continued  for  four  or  five  days,  and 
it  was  fully  a  week  before  complete  order  was  re 
stored.  All  the  stages  and  cars  stopped  running, 
and  the  stores  and  shops  were  closed.  Men  and 
women  peeped  cautiously  out  of  their  doors  and 
windows,  for  fear  bullets  might  hit  them.  Fires 
were  burning  almost  constantly,  and  together  with 
the  ringing  of  the  bells  and  the  tramp  of  soldiers, 
New  York  city  seemed  like  a  military  camp. 

If  the  matter  had  been  taken  hold  of  properly  at 


EVENTS    IN   THE   NOKTH    IN  1806.  819 

the  start  it  might  have  been  soon  disposed  of. 
But  the  mayor  of  the  city,  an  abolitionist  by  the 
name  of  Opdyke,  was  afraid  to  go  in  the  street. 
Governor  Seymour  hurried  to  the  city  as  fast  as 
he  could,  and  by  calm  words  and  a  firm  policy 
soon  brought  order  out  of  chaos.  The  abolition 
ists,  however,  tried  to  thwart  his  endeavors,  and 
with  some  troops  under  Colonel  Harvey  Brown, 
from  the  forts  in  the  harbor,  shot  down  a  good 
many  innocent  people. 

The  whole  story  of  the  riots  can  be  easily 
summed  up.  They  did  not  originate  in  a  desire  to 
harm  any  one,  but  simply  to  inform  Mr.  Lincoln 
that  New  Yorkers  would  not  be  dragged  into  the 
army  to  fight  to  free  negroes.  After  they  got 
under  way,  bad  men  used  the  confusion  to  rob, 
plunder,  and  steal. 

One  thing,  however,  these  riots  did  do.  They 
settled  the  draft  in  New  York  city.  For  though 
Mr.  Lincoln  sent  on  a  large  force,  and  threatened 
great  things,  yet  no  man,  I  believe,  was  ever  taken 
out  of  New  York  city  for  the  war,  without  his  con 
sent.  The  Common  Council  was  forced  to  offer 
large  bounties,  and  to  get  by  buying  what  they 
could  not  secure  by  force. 

During  this  year,  too,  the  abolitionists  did  all 
they  could  to  stimulate  the  war  feeling  in  the  North 
by  alleged  cruelties  on  the  Federal  prisoners  in 
the  South,  and  particularly  at  Andersonville, 
Georgia.  I  have  not  space  to  go  into  a  detail  of 
this  matter  here,  but  it  is  certain  that  if  Northern 
soldiers  were  suffering  in  the  South,  the  abolition 


320  EVENTS   IN  THE   NORTH   IN  1868. 

authorities  could  have  got  them  out  of  it  any  daj 
by  exchanging  prisoners,  which  the  Confederates 
were  anxious  to  do.  The  truth  was,  however,  that 
the  abolition  government  at  Washington  purposely 
refused  to  do  so.  They  said  the  thirty  or  forty 
thousand  Confederates  the  North  had  would  go  to 
recruit  the  Southern  army,  while  in  the  case  of  the 
Federal  prisoners  their  terms  were  mostly  out  and 
they  would  not  probably  re-enlist. 

No  doubt  a  good  deal  of  hardship  was  expe 
rienced,  but  I  saw  soldiers  who  were  in  Anderson- 
ville  nine  months,  who  came  out  as  healthy  and  as 
rugged  as  when  they  went  in.  Persons  who  were 
filthy  and  did  not  take  care  of  their  health,  of 
course,  suffered  and  died. 

Southern  officers  confined  at  Chicago,  Illinois, 
and  Elmira,  New  York,  however,  declare  that  they 
were  more  cruelly  treated  than  the  Federal  prison 
ers  in  the  South.  I  will  not  stop  here  to  more 
than  say  that  I  believe  from  all  I  know,  that  Gen 
eral  Winder,  was  a  humane  man  and  did  all 
that  his  limited  means  would  allow  for  the  Federal 
prisoners  at  the  South,  and  I  am  fully  satisfied 
that  the  abolitionists  intentionally  got  up  their 
horrible  stories  in  order  to  inflame  the  Northern 
mind  and  keep  it  up  to  the  work  of  abolishing 
"slavery."  In  fact  this  atrocious  design  was 
boldly  avowed  in  a  printed  pamphlet,  gotten  up, 
with  horrible  cuts,  for  Northern  circulation. 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

THE  OPENING   EVENTS    OF   1864. 

ANOTHER  year  had  now  rolled  around,  and  yet 
the  South  was  not  whipped.  The  year  1863  had 
closed  with  gloom  to  the  Confederates.  But  still 
'their  spirits  seemed  as  firm  as  ever.  The  year 
1864  opened  more  auspiciously.  General  Eosser's 
raid  into  Western  Virginia  in  January,  and  Pick- 
ett's  expedition  against  Newbern,  North  Carolina, 
in  February,  had  both  been  successful,  and  mate 
rially  assisted  in  dispelling  the  despondency. 

But  greater  operations  than  these  were  soon  to 
transpire  favorably  to  the  Confederates.  General 
Sherman,  with  thirty-five  thousand  men,  started 
early  in  February  on  an  expedition  from  Vicks- 
burg,  marching  eastwardly.  He  was  supported  by 
the  cavalry  of  Generals  Smith  and  Grierson,  and 
it  is  supposed  his  design  was  the  capture  of  Mo 
bile  ;  but  he  failed  utterly.  General  Forrest  fell 
upon  the  Federal  cavalry  and  cut  it  to  pieces,  and 
General  Sherman,  having  advanced  as  far  as  Me- 
ridian,  Mississippi,  and  finding  himself  without 
support,  retraced  his  steps. 

Finding  he  could  not  conquer,  he  fell  to  maraud 
ing  and  pillaging.  While  at  Meridian  he  sent  out 
detachments  and  burnt  or  desolated  Enterprise, 


322  OPENING   EVENTS    OF  1864. 

Quitman,  Hillsboro,  Canton,  Decatur,  Lauderdale 
Springs,  and  other  towns  in  Mississippi,  destroy 
ing  the  provisions  of  the  inhabitants  and  robbing 
them  of  their  valuables.  It  is  said  he  drove  off 
not  less  than  10,000  negroes  from  the  plantations, 
many  of  whom  were  taken  to  Vicksburg  and  forced 
into  the  army. 

The  next  unlucky  expedition  the  Federals  at 
tempted,  was  that  commanded  by  a  rampant  abol 
ition  officer,  one  General  Truman  Seymour.  He 
tried  to  penetrate  the  interior  of  Florida,  but  hav 
ing  marched  as  far  as  Olustee,  he  was  there  met  by 
General  Finnegan,  with  a  small  Confederate  force, 
who  whipped  the  negro-loving  general  so  severely 
that  he  ran  almost  back  to  Jacksonville  before  he 
stopped. 

I  have  now  to  relate  a  still  more  remarkable  de 
feat.  This  time  it  is  General  Banks,  whom  Stone 
wall  Jackson  so  soundly  whipped  in  Virginia.  Mr. 
Lincoln  had  sent  General  Banks  to  New  Orleans, 
in  place  of  Butler.  In  March,  he  concocted,  in 
connection  with  Admiral  Porter's  fleet,  an  expe 
dition  up  the  Red  River  against  Shreveport.  The 
real  ouject  of  this  movement  was  "to  steal  cotton," 
but  General  Banks  called  it  a  military  expedition. 

When  General  Banks  arrived  at  a  place  called 
Mansfield,  he  found  something  in  his  path.  It 
proved  to  be  Generals  Kirby  Smith  and  Dick  Tay 
lor,  with  an  army.  A  battle  took  place,  in  which 
General  Banks  was  literally  "  whipped  out  of  his 
boots."  He  fell  back  to  a  place  called  Pleasant 
Hill,  and  there  he  got  whipped  again  the  next  day. 


OPENING   EVENTS    OF  1864.  323 

At  night  he  ran  away,  and  did  not  stop  until  he 
got  under  the  shelter  of  Admiral  Porter's  fleet  at 
Grand  Encore.  From  thence  he  fell  back  to  Alex 
andria,  and  was  in  a  great  hurry  to  get  back  to 
New  Orleans. 

Admiral  Porter,  too,  came  very  near  being 
caught  with  all  his  fleet.  The  Bed  River  fell  very 
suddenly,  and  he  could  not  get  his  boats  over  the 
rapids  at  Alexandria.  So  he  was 'forced  to  dam 
up  the  waters  of  Eed  Kiver,  which  he  did  as 
speedily  as  possible,  and  thus  he  got  his  boats 
away. 

Thus  ended  General  Banks'  military  exploits, 
for  h«  soon  after  returned  to  Massachusetts,  where 
they  elected  him  to  Congress. 

Besides  these  marked  successes  of  the  Confeder 
ates,  they  had  been  very  active  with  their  cavalry. 
General  Forrest,  after  defeating  Smith  and  Grier- 
son,  had  moved  into  Kentucky,  going  even  into 
Paducah  and  Columbus.  Mosby  was  almost  every 
day  surprising  the  Federal  outposts  in  the  vicinity 
of  Washington. 

Colonel  John  S.  Mosby  was  one  of  the  most 
daring  partisan  chiefs  in  the  Confederate  service. 
He  was  here,  there,  and  everywhere.  Intimately 
acquainted  with  all  tfys  country  about  Washington, 
he  scarcely  allowed  the  abolition  crowd  there  a 
chance  to  sleep.  Time  and  again  they  had  tried 
to  catch  him  by  all  sorts  of  devices,  but  he  was  too 
much  for  them  every*  time. 

I  have  now  to  relate  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
episodes  of  the  war.  On  the  28th  of  February, 


824  OPENING   EVENTS   OF  1864. 

General  Kilpatrick,  with  5000  picked  men,  started 
on  a  raid  to  Richmond.  When  he  set  out  vague 
hints  were  given  in  the  abolition  papers  that  the 
country  would  soon  be  startled  by  great  events. 
This  man,  Kilpatrick,  was  a  low,  brutal  fellow 
and  well  adapted  to  any  vile  work,  as  we  shall 
eee  before  we  get  through  with  what  we  ara 
relating. 

After  he  reached  Beaver  Dam,  near  Eichmond, 
he  divided  his  force  into  two  parts,  which  took 
different  directions.  One  portion  he  commanded 
himself.  The  other  was  placed  in  charge  o^ 
Colonel  Ulric  Dahlgren,  a  giddy,  foolish,  impulsive 
young  man,  who  probably  did  not  even  realize 
what  a  criminal  errand  he  was  on. 
•  Kilpatrick  reached  the  outer  defences  of  Eich 
mond,  and  though  there  was  scarcely  any  force  to 
resist  him,  he  seems  to  have  got  frightened,  and, 
satisfied  with  boasting  that  he  had  seen  Eichmond, 
galloped  off  towards  the  Peninsula. 

Dahlgren,  more  impulsive  and  fool-hardy,  re 
solved  to  fight,  and  though  there  was  nothing  but 
a  regiment  of  boys,  mostly  clerks  in  Eichmond,  to 
oppose  him,  yet  he  was  badly  whipped  and  tried 
to  retreat.  His  command  broke  up  into  squads. 
Biding  along,  he  saw  a  few  Confederates,  and  sup-' 
posing  they  were  skulkers,  he  shouted, 

l:  Surrender!" 

"Mre,"  cried  Lieutenant  Pollard,  who  com 
manded  the  young  men,  and  the  next  moment 
poor  Dahlgren  was  dead. 

And  now  comes  the  remarkable  part  of  this 


OPENING   EVENTS    OF  1864.  825 

story.  From  papers  found  on  young  Dahlgren's 
body,  it  was  discovered  that  the  object  of  the  ex 
pedition  was  to  release  the  Federal  prisoners  con 
fined  in  Richmond,  to  destroy  and  burn  the  city 
and  kill  Jefferson  Davis  and  his  Cabinet  I 

It  is  not  necessary  to  give  these  papers  in  full 
here,  but  the  above  is  their  purport.  The  abolition 
papers  denied  the  authenticity  of  these  documents, 
and  declared  that  they  were  forged  by  the  Confed 
erates.  It  certainly  seems  almost  impossible  to 
believe  that  such  a  horrible  crime  as  the.  cool 
and  deliberate  murder  of  Davis  and  his  cabinet 
could  have  been  contemplated,  and  yet,  if  the 
alleged  papers  are  authentic,  there  is  no  room  to 
doubt  it. 

Upon  this  point  I  will  quote  the  authority 
of  Mr.  E.  A.  Pollard,  the  Southern  historian. 
He  says  :  "  Yankee  newspapers,  with  consistent 
hardihood,  disputed  the  authenticity  of  these  pa 
pers.  The  writer,  whose  relative  was  engaged  in 
the  affair,  and  who  himself  was  familiar  with  all 
the  incidents  relating  to  these  papers,  may  assert 
most  positively  that  there  is  not  a  shadow  of 
ground  to  question  their  authenticity.  He  saw  the 
originals.  In  half  an  hour  after  they  were  found, 
they  were  placed  in  the  hands  of  General  Fitz- 
Hugh  Lee  ;  and  the  soiled  folds  of  the  paper  were 
then  plainly  visible.  The  words  referring  to  the 
murder  of  the  President  and  his  Cabinet  were  not 
interlined,  but  were  in  the  regular  context  of  the 
manuscript.  The  proof  of  the  authenticity  of  the 
papers  is  clinched  by  the  circumstance  that  there 


826  OPENING   EVENTS    OF    1864. 

was  also  found  on  Dahlgren's  body  a  private  note 
book,  which  contained  a  rough  draft  of  the  ad 
dress  to  his  soldiers,  and  repetitions  of  some  of 
memoranda  in  the  papers.  The  writer  has  care 
fully  examined  this  note-book — a  common  memo 
randum  pocket-book,  such  as  might  be  bought  in 
New  York  for  fifty  cents — in  which  are  various 
notes,  some  in  ink  and  some  in  pencil ;  the  sketch 
of  the  address  is  in  pencil,  very  imperfectly  writ 
ten,  as  one  who  labored  in  composition,  crossed 
and  re-crossed.  It  does  not  differ  materially  in 
context  or  language  from  the  more  precise  com 
position,  except  that  the  injunction  to  murder 
the  Confederate  leaders  is  in  the  rough  draft 
made  with  this  additional  emphasis,  'kill  on  the 


Eight  here  the  terrible  thought  comes  up,  if  this 
be  true,  these  men  would  never  have  dared  to  at 
tempt  the  deed  referred  to,  if  it  had  not  received 
the  open  or  secret  sanction  of  higher  authority! 
People  may  doubt  whether  Lincoln  and  Seward 
could  have  been  guilty  of  even  such  a  thought ; 
but  when  we  remember  into  what  monsters  fanati 
cism  has  transferred  men  in  all  ages  of  the  world, 
we  are  prepared  to  believe  anything  possible. 
How  many  thousands  of  people  have  been  killed 
in  cold  blood  by  men,  while  lifting  up  their  hands 
to  heaven,  and  claiming  they  were  doing  God 
service. 

And  this  abolition  fanaticism  or  delusion  is  no 
exception  to  the  general  rule.  How  many  other 
wise  good  people  have  been  led  to  sanction  war. 


OPENING  EVENTS    OF   1864.  827 

and  all  sorts  of  cruelty,  to  crush  out  what  they  be 
lieve,  or  think  they  believe,  is  a  sin.  This  whole 
war  shows  how  abolitionism  brutifies  mankind,  and 
crushes  out  all  the  generous  traits  of  humanity 
from  those  who  have  come  thoroughly  under  its 
influence. 


CHAPTEE  XLII. 

GENERAL  GRANT*S  "  ON  TO  RICHMOND. " 

GENERAL  GRANT,  who  was  now  Lieutenant-Gene- 
ral,  had  formed  his  plans  for  a  grand  advance  of 
all  his  armies  during  the  first  week  in  May,  1864. 
He  had  concentrated  nearly  all  his  troops  into  two 
grand  armies.  One  under  his  own  command  to 
march  on  Richmond,  and  the  other  under  General 
Sherman  to  advance  to  the  capture  of  Atlanta. 

His  first  move  was  to  send  off  various  supportr 
ing  expeditions.  One,  under  General  Sigel,  was 
sent  down  the  Shenandoah  Valley  against  Lynch- 
burg,  and  another,  under  General  Butler,  was  sent 
by  way  of  Fortress  Monroe,  to  take  Petersburg. 
If  these  expeditions  had  been  successful,  General 
Grant  might  have  had  an  easy  time  of  it.  But  we 
shall  see  they  were  not.  His  forces  numbered 
nearly  two  hundred  thousand  men  of  all  arms ; 
General  Lee's  army  numbered  about  fifty-two 
thousand. 

On  the  3d  of  May,  General  Grant  set  his  tre 
mendous  army  in  motion.  A  train  of  4,000  wag 
ons  was  a  proof  of  the  vast  host  on  the  march. 
Grant's  intention  was  to  cross  the  Eapidan  River, 
and  march  his  army  directly  to  Gordonsville, 


GENERAL  GRANT'S  "ON  TO  RICHMOND."     329 

which,  if  once  accomplished,  would  place  his  army 
between  the  army  of  Lee  and  Richmond.  The 
fact  that  General  Lee  offered  no  objection  to  his 
passage  of  the  river,  impressed  General  Grant  with 
the  idea  that  the  Confederate  commander  would  at 
once  retreat  with  his  whole  army  to  Richmond. 

When,  therefore,  on  Thursday  morning,'  the  5th 
of  May,  Grant  found  a  Confederate  force  in  his 
front,  at  a  place  known  as  the  Wilderness,  he  im 
agined  it  to  be  a  movement  of  the  retreat  of  Lee's 
army.  It  was  not,  however,  long  before  he  found 
his  fatal  mistake.  In  Lee's  initial  movement,  be 
fore  the  real  battle  commenced,  Grant  lost  3,000 
men.  And  when  the  darkness  of  the  night  put  a 
stop  to  the  fierce  conflict  that  raged  for  hours, 
Lee's  forces  occupied  the  same  ground  they  did  at 
the  beginning.  Grant  had  been  manfully  repulsed 
at  every  point ;  and  his  men  slept  on  their  arms 
that  night  to  be  ready  to  renew  the  engagement 
in  the  morning.  Lee  was  also  waiting  to  open  the 
battle  in  the  morning.  Both  generals  were,  there 
fore,  determined  to  open  the  fiery  ball  tho  next 
day.  But  Lee  was  ahead  of  his  antagonist ;  and 
while  Grant  was  preparing  to  strike,  he  dealt  the 
first  terrible  blow.  Then  followed  one  of  the  most 
deadly  and  terrible  battles  which  occurred  during 
the  whole  war.  General  Lee  here  inflicted  a  ter 
rible  chastisement  upon  General  Grant.  Grant 
lost  15,000  men,  and  Lee  about  7,000.  It  was  a 
great  victory  for  so  small  an  army  to  win  over  one 
so  vastly  its  superior  in  numbers. 

The  historian  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  %eak« 


830    GENERA!,  GRANT'S  "ON  TO  RICHMOND." 

ing  of  the  battle,  says,  that  General  Grant  "  avow* 
edly  despised  maneuvering.  His  reliance  was 
exclusively  on  the  application  of  brute  masses,  in 
rapid  and  remorseless  blows,  or  as  he  himself 
phrased  it,  '  in  hammering  continuously/  "  But  in 
this  instance  the  hammer  itself  was  broken  by 
Lee's  superior  generalship. 

After  this  fatal  experiment  of  "  hammering  "  in 
the  Wilderness,  where  he  had  hammered  so  many 
thousand  of  his  own  men  to  death,  General  Grant 
withdrew  as  secretly  as  possible  with  a  view  of 
reaching  Spottsylvania  Court  House,  where  he 
would  be  between  Lee's  army  and  Richmond — that 
is,  provided  Lee  would  remain  where  he  then  was, 
in  order  to  accommodate  him.  But  to  General 
Grant's  very  great  surprise  and  discomfiture,  when 
he  arrived  in  the  neighborhood  of  Spottsylvania, 
he  found  Lee  was  there  before  him.  So  without 
any  attempt  at  maneuvering,  he  here  set  to  work 
again  to  hammer  his  way  through  Lee's  lines. 
But  everywhere  was  he  thrown  back  with  fearful 
slaughter.  And  thus  he  hammered  away  for  twelve 
days  and  nights,  without  making  the  least  impres 
sion  upon  Lee's  lines,  and  only  getting  his  own  men 
killed.  The  ground  was  literally  covered  and 
heaped  up  with  the  dead. 

The  result  of  this  hammering  on  the  two  battle 
fields  of  the  Wilderness  and  Spottsylvania  was 
a  loss  of  forty  thousand  men,  who  were  ignomin- 
iously  slaughtered  by  incompetent  generalship. 
General  Meade's  official  report  admits  a  loss  of 
thirty-nine  thousand  seven  hundred  and  thirty- 


GENERAL    GRANT'S     'ON   TO    RICHMOND."       381 

one  ;  and  liia  report  cfoes  not  include  the  losses  of 
Bnrnside's  corps. 

The  soldiers  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  were 
not  very  secret  in  their  denunciations  of  Genera 
Grant.     They  called  him  a  "  butcher,"  and  but  fo 
the  popularity  of  several  of  the  division  command 
ers  there  would  have  been  very  great  difficulty  in 
persuading  the  army  to  fight  under  Grant.     So 
terribly  had  his  army  been  cut  to  pieces  in  these 
battles  of  the  Wilderness  and  Spottsylvania  that 
he  was  obliged  to  send  for  reinforcements  before 
attempting  a  further  march  towards  Bichmond. 

On  the  night  of  the  20th  of  May,  General  Grant 
set  his  army  on  the  march  again  towards  Bich 
mond.  The  next  day  brought  him  to  the  banks 
of  the  North  Anna  River,  where  he  found  a  por 
tion  of  Lee's  army  in  his  front.  But  Lee  made 
just  opposition  enough  at  this  point  to  impress 
Grant  with  an  idea  of  his  weakness,  and  then  re 
treated  to  the  South  Anna.  To  this  point  General 
Grant  marched  with  the  fullest  confidence  that  he 
would  meet  with  no  serious  check.  But  he  was 
doomed  to  a  very  sad  disappointment ;  for  he  soon 
discovered  that  Lee  had  so  manoeuvred  as  to  place 
the  very  centre  of  his  army  between  the  two  wings 
of  Grant's  army,  thereby  cutting  the  abolition 
army  in  two  in  the  middle. 

Out  of  this  trap  into  which  he  had  so  proudly 
marched,  Grant  beat  a  very  hasty  retreat.  He 
was  forced  to  re-cross  the  North  Anna  Biver,  and 
take  a  circuitous  and  tedious  route  in  another  di 
rection.  The  only  thing  he  had  accomplished  jba 


332      GENEEAJL    GRANT'S    "ON   TO    EICHMOND." 

six  days  of  painful  marching  was  to  get  a  great 
many  of  his  men  killed. 

General  Grant  withdrew  as  secretly  as  possible 
from  the  North  Anna,  on  the  night  of  the  26th  of 
May.  His  direction  was  south-east  towards  the 
Chickahominy  Kiver.  It  was  on  the  banks  of  thia 
river  that  the  next  great  battle  was  fought,  at  a 
point  called  Cold  Harbor.  This  place  proved  to 
be  another  of  Grant's  slaughter-pens,  where  he 
hammered  his  own  gallant  men  to  sure  destruction 
without  making  the  least  visible  impression  upon 
the  enemy.  In  a  single  assault  of  Lee's  lines,  he 
lost  thirteen  thousand  men,  while  Lee  did  not  lose 
as  many  hundreds.  And  when  General  Grant  gave 
the  order  for  another  assault,  the  whole  army,  as 
one  man,  refused  to  obey  his  order. 

The  historian  of  "  The  Campaigns  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac,"  who  was  a  spectator  of  the 
events  he  describes,  says  of  the  order  for  another 
assault :  "  The  order  was  issued  through  these 
officers  to  their  subordinate  commanders,  and 
from  them  descended  through  the  wanted  chan 
nels  ;  but  no  man  stirred,  and  the  immobile  lines 
pronounced  a  verdict,  silent  yet  emphatic,  against 
further  slaughter." 

It  is,  perhaps,  the  only  instance  on  record  where 
a  whole  army  of  such  vast  numbers  refused  to 
obey  orders.  But  the  soldiers  knew  that  by  obey 
ing  the  order  they  simply  -devoted  themselves  to 
destruction.  They  had  ceased  to  feel  any  respect 
for  General  Grant,  and  although  they  were  brave 
and  gallant  men,  they  positively  refused  to  ha 


GENERAL  GRANT'S  "ON  TO  RICHMOND."     S33 

further  slaughtered  by  what  they  believed  to  be 
incompetent  generalship. 

In  this  short  march  from  the  Rapidan  to  the 
Chickahominy,  Grant  had  lost  between  sixty  and 
seventy  thousand  men.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  a 
skillful  general  would  have  accomplished  the  same 
march  with  one-fifth  of  that  loss.  In  these  battles 
Grant  lost  twenty  thousand  more  men  than  Lee's 
whole  army  numbered.  The  reinforcements  he 
received  between  the  Rapidan  and  the  Chicka 
hominy  amounted  to  more  than  Lee's  whole  army. 

The  history  of  these  battles  affords  a  very  strik 
ing  illustration  of  the  very  great  difference  between 
good  and  bad  generalship.  Grant's  theory  was 
that  he  could  afford  to  slaughter  three  of  his  men 
to  kill  one  Confederate.  But  in  these  battles  the 
proportion  of  his  slaughtered  was  greater  than 
that.  It  was  more  than  three  to  one.  And  all  he 
had  gained  was  a  position  in  front  of  Richmond, 
which,  after  a  few  days,  he  was  obliged  to  aban 
don  for  the  precise  spot  adopted  by  McClellan 
two  years  before. 

On  the  night  of  the  12th  of  June,  Grant  began 
to  withdraw  from  the  region  of  Cold  Harbor,  in 
front  of  Richmond,  and  commenced  his  march 
across  the  Peninsula  to  the  James  River.  The 
distance  was  fifty-five  miles,  which  brought  him  to 
the  James  a  little  below  Harrison's  Landing,  the 
scene  of  General  McClellan's  operations.  This 
march  was  completed,  without  opposition  on  the 
part  of  Lee,  in  two  days.  On  the  16th  of  the 
month  Grant's  whole  army  was  on  the  south  side 


&34    GENERAL  GRANT'S  "  ON  TO  RICHMOND." 

of  the  James,  and  prepared  to  take  the  same  steps 
for  the  capture  of  Richmond  which  McClellan  had 
fixed  upon  at  the  time  he  was  ordered  from  Wash 
ington  to  withdraw  his  army  from  the  Peninsula. 

In  an  effort  to  take  Richmond  from  this  point, 
the  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to  take  the  city  of 
Petersburg,  which  is  twenty-two  miles  south  of 
Richmond,  and  was  the  outer  line  of  the  defences 
of  Richmond.  The  Lynchburg  Railroad,  James 
River  Canal,  and  Danville  Railroad  connected  this 
place  with  the  west  and  south-west  sections  of  the 
country  from  which  Richmond  largely  drew  its 
supplies. 

Grant  felt  sure  that  he  would  be  able  to  seize 
this  city  before  Lee's  army  would  be  there  to  de 
fend  it.  In  this  calculation  he  was  doomed  to 
another  bitter  disappointment,  for  no  sooner  did 
he  begin  his  "  hammering"  process  than  he  found 
the  same  invincible  anvil  of  Lee's  army  was  there 
to  throw  back  his  blows.  After  "pegging  away" 
two  days,  during  Avhich  time  he  lost  six  or  seven 
thousand  of  his  men,  on  the  morning  of  the  18th 
of  June  he  ordered  a  general  assault  of  Lee's  lines, 
which  resulted  in  his  complete  repulse  everywhere, 
with  a  terrible  loss  of  life.  The  failure  was  such 
a  disastrous  one  that  even  Grant  gave  up,  for  the 
time,  his  favorite  "  hammering"  process,  and  fell 
to  entrenching  his  army  before  the  city  of  Peters 
burg,  and  began  to  attempt  something  like  man 
oeuvring. 

The  first  effort,  however,  made  after  completing 
his  entrenchments,  proved  a  very  disastrous  one  ; 


GENERAL  GRANT'S  "ON  TO  RICHMOND."       335 

as  Lee,  by  a  bold  dash,  swept  down  through  a  por 
tion  of  his  lines  and  captured  several  entire  regi 
ments  and  one  of  his  most  powerful  batteries. 

General  Grant  exhausted  two  weeks  in  fruitless 
raids  and  assaults,  in  every  one  of  which  he  was  in 
deed  greatly  the  loser.  In  this  way  he  lost  be 
tween  15,000  and  20,000  men,  without  inflicting 
any  considerable  damage  upon  Lee.  Indeed  he 
had  literally  worn  his  own  army  out  again.  Swin- 
ton  says :  "  Indeed  the  Union  army,  terribly 
shaken  as  well  in  spirit  as  in  material  substance, 
by  the  repeated  attacks  on  entrenched  positions  it 
had  been  called  on  to  make,  was  in  a  very  unfit 
moral  condition  to  undertake  any  new  enterprise 
of  that  character." 

Grant  was  at  last  convinced  that  it  was  impossi 
ble  for  him  to  carry  the  city  by  assault.  So  there 
was  no  resource  left  him  but  to  give  up  again  his 
"  hammering"  system  and  to  go  to  digging.  So  he 
kept  busy  for  five  or  six  weeks  in  constructing  and 
arming  defensive  works.  Among  other  things  an 
extensive  mine  was  dug  under  a  portion  of  Lee's 
works,  which  was  to  be  exploded,  as  it  was  thought, 
with  the  most  disastrous  consequences  to  the  Con 
federates. 

Grant  fixed  upon  the  morning  of  the  30th  of  July, 
for  the  exploding  of  this  mine,  and  for  a  general 
assault  upon  Lee's  lines  through  the  opening  which 
the  exploded  mine  was  to  make.  The  explosion  of 
the  mine  took  place  at  half-past  four  in  the  morn 
ing.  The  shock  was  terrible,  and  vast  masses  of 
earth  were  thrown  more  than  two  hundred  feet  into 


336      GENERAL  GRANT'S  "ON  TO  RICHMOND." 

the  air.  The  only  damage  done  was  to  surprise 
the  Confederates  for  a  few  minutes,  when  thej 
made  the  best  possible  use  of  what  turned  out  tc 
be  a  great  folly  on  the  part  of  General  Grant. 

The  explosion  produced  a  huge  crater  one  hun 
dred  and  fifty  feet  long,  sixty  feet  wide,  and  thirty 
feet  deep.  Through  this  opening  in  Lee's  works 
Grant  undertook  to  push  his  assaulting  column. 
In  this  assaulting  column  was  a  brigade  of  negroes 
under  Burnside,  which  led  the  van,  and  which,  on 
meeting  a  fierce  fire  from  Lee's  works,  fled  wildly 
back,  and  doubled  up  upon  the  white  troops  be 
hind  them  in  such  a  manner  as  to  produce  a  scene 
of  fright  and  confusion,  that  would  have  been 
laughable  if  it  had  not  been  so  terrible.  An  army 
correspondent,  who  witnessed  the  whole  affair, 
said,  "blacks  and  whites  tumbled  pell-mell  into 
the  hollow  of  exploded  earthworks — a  slaughter- 
pen,  in  which  shells  and  bombs  rained  from  the 
enemy's  lines,  and  did  frightful  havoc.  Failing  to 
advance,  it  soon  proved  almost  equally  difficult  to 
retreat,  though  parties  of  tens  and  twelves,  crawling 
out,  •  ran  back  as  best  they  could.  Above  four 
thousand  were  killed  or  captured." 

Such  was  General  Grant's  first  attempt  at  stra 
tegy  against  Lee.  With  herculean  labor,  he  pio- 
duced  an  immense  hole  in  the  earth,  which  served 
no  other  purpose  than  a  frightful  slaughter-pen 
for  his  own  men.  In  September,  he  made  an 
attack  with  a  portion  of  his  army  on  the  defences 
of  lUchmond  north  of  the  James  River.  But  here 
he  met  with  another  decided  repulse.  This 


GENERAL   GRANT'S    "  ON   TO    RICHMOND*"        337 

General   Grant's  offensive    movements  for   some 
months. 

It  will  be  remembered  I  stated,  that  when  Gen 
eral  Grant  started  for  Richmond,  in  May,  he  sent 
off  General  Sigel  to  take  Lynchburg,  and  Gen 
eral  Butler  to  take  Petersburg.  Both  of  these 
expeditions  signally  failed.  General  Sigel  got 
severely  whipped  by  General  Breckinridge,  and 
General  Beauregard,  who  had  came  up  from 
Charleston,  soon  disposed  of  Butler.  Butler,  as 
Usual,  made  himself  the  laughing-stock  of  all  sensi 
ble  people.  At  one  time  he  telegraphed  that  "  he 
.held  the  key  of  Richmond."  But  no  one  ever  saw 
"  the  key,"  except  Butler,  and  he  only  in  imagi 
nation. 

Grant,  however,  did  not  give  up  his  design  of 
capturing  Lynchburg.  So  he  sent  General  David 
Hunter  to  take  it ;  but  Hunter  not  only  got  badly 
whipped,  but  seems  to  have  become  awfully  fright 
ened.  He  not  only  ran  away,  but  did  not  stop 
until  he  got  into  Western  Virginia,  where  he  ar 
rested  two  editors  for  speaking  disrespectfully  of 
his  campaign.  He  found  time,  however,  in  his 
flight,  to  burn  the  Virginia  Military  Institute,  with 
its  library,  &c.,  Governor  Letcher's  dwelling-house, 
and  to  commit  several  other  outrageous  and  fiend 
ish  acts. 

The  defeat  of  Hunter  opened  the  Shenandoah 
Valley  again  ;  and  General  Jubal  Early,  who  now 
commanded  on  Stonewall  Jackson's  old  battle 
fields,  came  rushing  down  the  valley,  capturing 
Winchester,  Martinsburg,  Harper's  Ferry,  and, 


838        GENERAL   GRANT'S    "  ON   TO    RICHMOND,* 

crossing  the  Potomac,  started  another  panic  in  the 
North.  Some  people  thought  General  Lee  was 
coming  again  with  his  whole  army. 

General  Lew.  Wallace,  a  bitter  abolition  general, 
who  commanded  at  Baltimore,  went  out  to  whip 
Early,  and  met  the  Confederates  at  a  place  called 
Monocacy,  but  was  so  badly  beaten,  that  he  did 
not  stop  running  until  he  got  safely  back  to  Bal 
timore,  where  he  barricaded  the  city. 

The  troops  under  Generals  Early  and  Breckin- 
ridge  now  scoured  over  Maryland,  capturing  rail 
road  trains,  the  cavalry,  under  the  daring  Harry 
Gilmore,  coming  almost  to  the  Pennsylvania  line. 
For  a  few  days  General  Early  threatened  Wash 
ington,  some  of  his  troops  actually  firing  shots 
into  the  city.  He  burned  the  houses  of  Governor 
Bradford  and  Montgomery  Blair  of  Maryland,  in 
retaliation  of  Hunter's  devastations  in  the  valley, 
and  then  started  off  with  his  stores  across  the 
Potomac. 

General  Grant  now  resolved  upon  savage  meas 
ures,  the  like  of  which  had  never  been  known  in 
civilized  warfare.  He  entrenched  his  army  before 
Petersburg,  and  then  detaching  two  corps,  sent 
them,  with  a  heavy  force  of  cavalry,  all  under 
General  Philip  Sheridan,  to  the  Shenandoah  Val* 
ley.  These  troops,  with  the  remains  of  Hunter's 
army,  made  a  force  that  it  was  impossible  for  Gen 
eral  Early  to  contend  against.  He  was  driven  out 
of  the  valley  with  heavy  losses  of  guns  and  men. 

And  now  General  Sheridan,  with  the  instincts 
of  savage  warfare,  determined  to  utterly  devastate 


GENERAL   OBANT*B   "ON   TO    RICHMOND."        3tJQ 

this  beautiful  valley.  He  therefore  set  his  troops 
at  work,  and  the  result  is  given  in  his  own  official 
report  to  Gen.  Grant  as  follows  :  "  Woodstock, 
Oct.  7.  I  have  destroyed  over  two  thousand  barns 
filled  with  wheat  and  hay  and  farming  implements; 
over  seventy  mills  filled  with  flour  and  wheat;  have 
driven  in  front  of  the  army  over  four  herd  of  stock, 
and  have  killed  and  issued  to  the  troops  not  less 
than  three  thousand  sheep.  This  destruction  em 
braces  the  Luray  Valley  and  Little  Fort  Valley,  as 
well  as  the  main  Valley."  In  one  place  he  states 
that  "  he  burned  all  the  houses  within  five  miles 
of  a  spot "  where  one  of  his  men  had  been  mur 
dered,  but  why  innocent  women  and  children 
should  have  their  houses  burned  over  their  heads, 
even  if  one  of  his  men  had  been  murdered,  no  one 
not  a  savage  by  instinct  can  tell. 

Whether  the  description  of  this  terrible  devas 
tation  be  above  or  below  the  facts,  we  give  the 
authority  on  which  it  rests.  Thousands  were 
reduced  to  the  verge  of  starvation,  and  many  would 
have  perished  but  for  the  timely  relief  of  the  ben 
evolent. 

General  Early  and  his  troops,  incensed  by  the 
brutal  devastation  of  the  valley,  made  superhuman 
efforts  to  chastise  Sheridan,  and  in  one  engage 
ment  severely  defeated  him.  But  they  could  not 
hold  their  ground.  Sheridan  greatly  outnumbered 
them,  and  falling  upon  them  again,  drove  them  to 
Staunton.  This,  I  believe,  closes  the  chapter  of 
military  movements  in  the  sadly  stricken  and  im 
poverished  Shenandoah  Valley. 


CHAPTEE  XLEU. 

SHEKMAN'S    "ON    TO    ATLANTA." 

I  HAY*,  *row  to  relate  General  Sherman's  part  of 
fche  campaign  which  General  Grant  had  planned. 
His  headquarters  were  at  Einggold,  in  the  north 
eastern  part  of  Georgia,  and  he  had  not  less  than 
100,000  men  in  three  grand  divisions,  under  the 
command  respectively  of  Generals  Thomas,  Scho- 
field  and  McPherson. 

The  Confederate  army  was  under  the  command 
of  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  and  did  not  num 
ber  more  than  half  of  General  Sherman's  force. 
It  was  strongly  entrenched  at  Dalton. 

General  Sherman  began  his  march  for  Atlanta 
about  the  same  time  that  Grant  started  for  Eich- 
mond.  When  he  got  to  Dalton,  he  took  a  good 
look  at  General  Johnston's  position,  and  as  he  did 
not  like  the  appearance  of  it,  he  determined  not  to 
attack  it.  So  he  moved  his  army  in  a  roundabout 
way  to  Eesacca.  Johnston,  seeing  the  movement, 
was  too  quick  for  him,  and  when  Sherman's  army 
arrived  there,  they  found  the  Confederate  com 
mander  ready  for  them. 

General  Sherman  now  tried  an  assault  upon 
General  Johnston's  works,  and  considerable  bat- 


SHERMAN'S    "  ON   TO    ATLANTA."  34] 

fcles  took  place  on  the  14th  and  15th  of  May.  Gen 
eral  Sherman  was  badly  repulsed,  and  General 
Johnston  took  up  his  retreat  in  a  leisurely  manner 
in  the  direction  of  the  Etowah  River.  Again  Gen 
eral  Johnston  assumed  such  a  strong  position  that 
General  Sherman  did  not  dare  to  attack  him,  but 
tried  the  flanking  process  again.  Compelled  to 
fall  back  once  more,  General  Johnston  now  took  a 
strong  position  on  the  Kenesaw  Mountain. 

Here  he  held  his  ground  for  a  month.  General 
Sherman  tried  in  vain  to  dislodge  him,  and  on  tli6 
27th  of  June  made  a  general  assault  of  his  whole 
force  upon  Johnston's  lines.  He  was  everywhere 
repulsed,  with  great  loss,  the  Confederates,  iu 
some  instances,  rolling  stones  down  the  mountain 
sides  upon  the  Federal  troops. 

Finding  it  impossible  to  carry  Johnston's  po  A- 
tion,  Sherman  again  resorted  to  his  flanking  mo\  e- 
ments.  He  marched  his  army  around  the  moun 
tain,  and  Johnston  was  now  compelled  to  fall  back 
across  the  Chattahoochee  Eiver.  It  was  now  the 
4th  of  July. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  the  Confederate 
General  Bishop  Leonidas  Polk  was  killed  by  a 
shell  while  taking  a  survey  of  General  Sherman's 
position.  At  the  opening  of  the  war,  he  took  off 
the  robes  of  his  ministerial  office  and  went  heart 
and  soul  into  the  contest  to  save  his  country  from 
the  pollution  of  abolitionism.  He  remarked  only 
a  short  time  before  his  death,  "  I  feel  like  a  man 
who  has  dropped  his  business  when  his  hou&e  is 
on  fire,  to  put  it  out,  for  as  soon  as  the  war  is  over 


842  SHERMAN'S    "ON   TO    ATLANTA.1* 

I  shall  return  again  to  my  sacred  calling.'*  Ha 
was  a  brave,  good  man,  and  beloved  by  all  who 
knew  him. 

The  Southern  people-  were  very  much  chagrined 
at  the  loss  of  territory.  All  northern  Georgia  was 
now  in  the  possession  of  Sherman's  army,  who  de 
vustated  it  without  mercy.  Some  of  the  finest 
wheat  growing  districts  of  the  South,  and  these 
almost  ripe  for  harvest,  had  fallen  into  the  enemy's 
hands.  Besides  these,  iron  rolling  mills  and  Gov 
ernment  works  of  great  value,  on  the  Etowah 
River,  had  been  abandoned. 

General  Sherman  now  crossed  the  Chattahoo- 
chee  Eiver,  and  General  Johnston  was  compelled 
to  fall  back  to  the  defences  of  Atlanta.  This  city 
was  a  very  important  position  for  the  Confederates. 
Here  they  manufactured  a  great  many  of  their 
army  stores.  It  was  well  fortified,  and  if  properly 
defended,  ought  to  have  held  out  for  a  long  time. 

There  were  now  general  murmurs  of  dissatisfac 
tion  against  General  Johnston  for  retreating  before 
Sherman.  People  in  the  South  said  he  ought  to 
fight,  and  not  be  forever  falling  back.  I  do  not 
pretend  to  decide  this  question,  but  a  great  many 
persons  now  think  that  if  he  had  been  let  alone,  he 
would  have  whipped  General  Sherman.  However, 
President  Davis  thought  he  was  not  doing  exactly 
right,  and  so  he  removed  him  from  command,  and 
appointed  General  John  B.  Hood  in  his  place. 

General  Hood  was  comparatively  a  young  man, 
from  the  State  of  Texas,  but  was  renowned  as  a 
great  fighter  He  it  was  who,  at  the  head  of  the 


343 


Texas  brigade,  stormed  McClellan's  position  at 
Games'  Mills,  and  turned  the  tide  of  battle  in  that 
day's  fight.  He  had  lost  one  leg  in  the  service, 
and  was  very  popular  in  the  army. 

As  soon  as  he  was  appointed  to  the  commands 
he  determined  to  fight  General  Sherman.  He  at 
tacked  him  on  the  20th  and  22d  and  28th  of  July, 
and  in  each  engagement  punished  him  severely, 
capturing  guns,  colors,  and  prisoners.  He  then 
fell  back  to  the  defences  of  Atlanta,  where  General 
Sherman  did  not  dare  to  molest  him.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  Sherman's  army  was  now  in  a  critical 
position.  It  could  not  take  Atlanta,  nor  could  it 
retreat.  Just  at  this  time  General  Hood  sent  all 
his  cavalry  off  to  operate  on  Sherman's  rear,  and 
break  up  his  line  of  communication. 

When  General  Sherman  heard  of  this,  he  con 
ceived  the  bold  idea  of  throwing  his  army  south  of 
Atlanta,  and  cutting  off  General  Hood's  communi 
cations.  The  absence  of  the  cavalry  rendered  this 
movement  now  possible,  and  before  General  Hood 
eould  recall  them,  ke  found  himself  compelled  to 
evacuate  Atlanta.  He  was  forced  to  blow  up  the 
Confederate  foundries  and  factories  and  destroy 
immense  quantities  of  army  stores  of  all  kinds.  It 
was  a  sad  day  for  the  people  of  Atlanta,  for  they 
knew  they  were  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  a  remorse 
less  military  chieftain.  It  was  the  1st  of  Septem 
ber  when  Atlanta  was  evacuated  by  Hood,  and 
thus  in  four  months,  with  a  vastly  inferior  force  to 
General  Grant,  General  Sherman  had  achieved 
the  object  he  aimed  to  accomplish. 


844  SHERMAN'S  *  ON  TO  ATLANTA.* 

General  Sherman  did  not  despise  "  manceu* 
vring,"  and  though  a  cruel  warrior,  he  had  dis 
played  military  genius  of  a  very  high  order. 

His  march  from  Binggold  to  Atlanta  was  a  scene 
of  desolation.  Houses  were  fired,  churches  pil 
laged,  towns  sacked,  and  hundreds  of  men,  women 
and  children  were  compelled  to  seek  shelter  in  the 
mountains.  It  pains  me  to  write  of  such  Vandal 
ism.  But  Sherman  told  the  people  that  this  year 
he  would  only  take  their  property.  But  next  year, 
if  the  war  continued,  he  would  take  their  lives. 

At  one  place  he  captured  some  four  hundred 
factory  girls,  and  forcing  them  to  get  into  army 
wagons,  transported  them  north  of  the  Ohio  Eiver, 
far  from  home  and  friends,  there  to  remain  during 
the  war.  What  became  of  these  poor  girls  I  can 
not  tell,  but  when  they  arrived  at  Louisville,  Ken 
tucky,  they  were  in  a  most  destitute  condition.  It 
is  cruel  enough  to  exile  men,  but  when  hundreds 
of  young  women  are  thus  torn  from  their  home 
and  friends,  the  act  is  worse  than  inhuman — it  is 
barbarous. 

The  abolitionists  of  the  North,  however,  were  so 
crazy  with  joy  over  the  capture  of  Atlanta,  that 
they  did  not  stop  to  rebuke  the  wrongs  inflicted 
upon  innocent  people. 

General  Sherman  signalized  his  capture  of  At- 
anta  by  further  displays  of  his  cruelty.  He  at 
once  ordered  that  all  the  white  inhabitants  should 
leave  the  city — should  be  driven  from  their  homes, 
men,  women,  and  children,  without  any  regard  to 
age  or  sex.  None  were  spared.  Those  who  would 


SHERMAN'S  "  ON  TO  ATLANTA."  345 

take  the  Lincoln  oath  were  sent  North.  Those 
who  would  net  must  go  South.  Then  commenced 
an  exodus  such  as  the  world  had  never  before 
known.  For  ten  days  a  steady  stream  of  men, 
women,  and  children — tottering  age  and  prattling 
nfancy — poured  out  of  the  desolated  city.  They 
could  take  only  a  few  articles  of  clothing,  some  of 
the  simplest  implements  of  cooking,  and  just 
enough  food  to  support  nature.  All  the  rest  of 
their  worldly  effects  they  were  forced  to  leave  to 
the  tender  mercies  of  General  Sherman's  soldiers. 

General  Hood  protested  against  this  as  "  a  crime 
against  God  and  humanity."  But  Sherman  heed 
ed  it  not.  The  Mayor  of  the  city  denounced  it  as 
"  wanton  cruelty."  General  Sherman's  brutal  re 
tort  was,  "  war  is  cruelty  ;"  and  thus  these  poor 
people  were  driven  forth  to  suffer  and  to  starve. 
How  many  little  children  died  from  exposure  I 
cannot  say.  But,  no  doubt,  scores  of  darling  babes 
perished.  Some,  it  is  said,  died  by  the  roadside  ; 
and  many  a  feeble  old  grandfather  cried  his  very 
last  breath  away  as  he  turned  his  back  forever  upon 
his  lost  home.  • 

General  Hood  finding  himself  out  of  Atlanta, 
now  started  upon  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
•military  movements  of  the  war.  It  was  bold  in 
conception  ;  and  if  it  had  been  successful,  would 
have  been  the  most  brilliant  affair  of  the  war. 
Marching  past  Atlanta,  he  struck  for  Chattanooga. 
General  Sherman  sent  General  Thomas  back  with 
a  strong  force  to  check  him,  and  so  stubbornly  did 
the  Federal  forces  defend  some  of  the  mountain 


546  SHERMAN'S    "ON    TO   ATLANTA.** 

passes   that  General  Hood  did    not  succeed  in 
reaching  his  destination. 

He  then  crossed  the  mountains  into  Northern 
Alabama,  and  started  for  Nashville.  General 
Thomas,  seeing  the  danger  that  menaced  him, 
hastened  to  its  defence.  He  collected  a  large 
army,  and  adding  to  the  already  formidable  de 
fences  of  the  city,  awaited  Hood's  attack. 

'Hood's  advance  was  at  first  a  splendid  success. 
On  the  30th  of  November,  he  whipped  General 
Schofield  in  a  severe  battle  at  Franklin,  and  then 
marched  directly  for  Nashville. 

Thomas  was  not  only  strongly  fortified,  but  his 
forces  far  outnumbered  Hood's.  The  Confederates 
fought  several  brilliant  engagements,  in  which  it 
is  acknowledged  they  performed  prodigies  of  valor. 
In  one  of  these  engagements,  General  Pat  Cle- 
burne,  the  commander  of  the  Irish  Brigade  in  the 
Confederate  Army,  was  killed.  His  loss  was  a 
severe  one,  for  he  was  not  only  the  idol  of  the 
army,  but  was  always  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight. 

It  was  now  the  middle  of  December.  The 
weather  was  unusually  cold  and  rainy,  combined 
with  snow  and  sleet.  General  Hood's  men  suf 
fered  fearfully.  On  the  16th,  he  was  compelled  to 
fall  back.  In  his  retreat  he  lost  very  heavily  ; 
B,nd  had  it  not  been  for  some  blunder  on  the  part 
of  Thomas  in  forwarding  pontoons  to  cross  the 
Tennessee  River,  his  reverses  might  have  been 
much  greater.  Thus  ended  the  year  1864  in  the 
West. 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 

Tl  A    PRESIDENTIAL    ELECTION   AND    OTHER   EVENTS   OF 
1864. 

FOUR  years  had  now  rolled  around  since  the 
Presidential  Election  of  1860  :  and  oh !  what  a 
four  years  of  blood  and  sorrow  they  had  been  to 
our  country!  The  great  conspiracy  against  our 
Democratic  and  Eepublican  system  of  government 
had  now  been  fairly  successful.  You  will  recollect 
what  I  showed  to  you  in  the  first  chapters  of  this 
book,  had  ever  been  the  design  of  the  monarchical 
or  anti-Republican  party  in  America.  They  wished 
to  make  the  States  mere  dependencies  or  prov 
inces,  and  to  erect  a  great  centralized  government 
at  Washington,  which  should  be,  in  all  but  the  name, 
a  despotism.  The  few  nabobs  of  New  England 
wanted  to  rule  the  whole  country,  and  place 
everybody  under  tribute  to  the  cotton  lords  of  that 
locality. 

Such  had  come  to  be  nearly  the  case.  The  vast 
patronage  which  Mr.  Lincoln  now  wielded  was 
greater  than  that  of  any  king  on  the  earth.  He 
had  an  army  of  over  a  million  of  men  to  do  his 
bidding.  He  had  thousands  of  officials  scattered 
all  over  the  country  in  the  persons  of  postmasters. 


34*  THE    PRESIDENTIAL    ELECTION,  ETC. 

assessors,  tax-collectors,  revenue  officers,  provost 
marshals,  detectives,  spies,  informers,  and  every 
species  of  vermin  known  to  the  worst  ages  of  des 
potism.  If  lie  needed  more,  he  had  only  to  manu 
facture  more  paper  money  to  purchase  them.  The 
four  years  of  his  Administration  had  been  a  period 
of  the  most  shameless  extravagance  and  corrup 
tion.  Vice  reared  its  head  everywhere.  Millions 
and  millions  of  money  had  been  squandered  upon 
government  favorites,  through  contracts  for  the 
army  and  navy. 

There  seemed  to  be  a  general  mania  for  stealing, 
for  defalcations,  and  robberies.  Mr.  Dawes,  an 
abolition  Congressman,  from  Massachusetts,  de 
clared  that  "the  public  treasury  had  been  plun 
dered  in  a  single  year  as  much  as  the  entire  current 
yearly  expenses  of  Mr.  Buchanan's  Administration." 
Even  women,  and  those  too  relatives  of  Mr,  Lin 
coln's  family,  were  found  to  have  interests  in  con 
tracts  !  Members  of  Congress,  professed  ministers 
of  religion,  broken  down  gamblers,  nasal- twanged 
abolitionists,  all  classes  and  conditions,  were  mixed 
up  in  these  shameless  robberies. 

So  fearful  had  these  corruptions  become,  that 
Congress  was  fairly  shamed  into  investigating  and 
denouncing  them.  A  committee  was  appointed, 
and  their  report  made  a  volume  of  over  one  thou» 
sand  pages.  I  will  quote  what  an  abolition  pape-r 
said  of  this  report :  "  It  is  a  monstrous  book — mon 
strous  in  its  hugeness,  monstrous  in  the  ugliness 
of  its  revelations,  monstrous  in  the  devilishness  of 
its  contents.  The  truths  therein  shown,  by  sworn 


THE   PRESIDENTIAL    ELECTION,  ETC.  340 

and  legal  testimony,  are  infinitely  stranger  than  fic 
tion.  This  monstrous  book  is  the  Kecord  of  In 
famy  !  It  will  stand  attesting  to  the  nation  and 
the  world  the  blighting,  scorching,  scathing  igno 
miny  which  the  nation  and  the  world  can  heap 
upon  those  who  would  lie,  cheat,  and  steal  from 
fcheir  country !" 

When  we  remember  that  all  this  was  done  by  a 
party  that  claimed  to  be  the  representative  of 
"  great  moral  ideas/'  that  was  engaged  in  crush 
ing  out  "  a  great  sin,"  we  can  easily  see  how  hol 
low  were  the  professions  of  its  leaders.  They  were 
using  the  delusion  about  negroes  not  only  to  over 
throw  the  Government,  but  to  rob  and  plunder  the 
people,  and  rivet  upon  the  masses  the  chains  and 
slavery  of  a  huge  public  debt.  Mr.  Lincoln's  great 
banker,  who  made,  it  is  said,  over  a  million  of  dol 
lars  in  selling  government  bonds,  issued  a  pam 
phlet  declaring  "that  a  national  debt  was  a  national 
blessing."  And  at  this  very  time,  and  while  he 
was  building  a  mansion  to  live  in,  rivaling  the 
palaces  of  the  kings  of  Europe,  the  poor  women  of 
New  York,  whose  husbands  had  died  in  the  war, 
were  starving  to  death  for  want  of  food ! 

But  "  greenbacks,"  as  Mr.  Lincoln's  paper  money 
was  called,  ruled  the  hour  ;  and  when  the  aboli 
tion  convention,  to  nominate  a  candidate  for  the 
Presidency,  met  in  Baltimore,  in  June,  no  one  was 
mentioned  except  Mr.  Lincoln.  Some  of  his  party 
wanted  another  candidate,  but  the  machinery  was 
too  perfect.  For  Vice-President,  they  put  on  An 
drew  Johnson,  of  1  ennessee,  in  order  to  show  to 


850  THE   PRESIDENTIAL    ELECTION,    ETC. 

the  people,  as  they  said,  that  their  party  was  ixo* 
sectional,  but  national.  Mr.  Johnson  had  been 
very  strongly  opposed  to  secession,  and  had  refused 
to  go  with  his  State.  They  also  insisted  on  calling 
themselves  "  the  Union  Party,"  and  under  this  de 
ception  got  thousands  of  votes. 

The  Democratic  Convention  met  at  Chicago,  on 
the  29th  of  August,  and  nominated,  for  President, 
General  George  B.  McClellan,  of  New  Jersey,  and 
for  Vice-President,  George  H.  Pendleton,  of  Ohio. 
Neither  the  nominations  nor  the  platform  were 
such  as  pleased  the  entire  Democratic  party.  Gen 
eral  McClellan  was  admired  as  a  gentleman  and  a 
Christian  soldier,  who  had  refused  to  turn  the  war 
into  one  of  plunder  and  arson.  But  he  announced 
himself  for  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  while  a 
great  many  Democrats  wanted  peace.  .  They  were 
willing  to  trust  their  Southern  brethren  in  settling 
the  future  of  our  Government,  on  a  basis  of  a  per 
fect  equality  of  the  States.  They  did  not  believe 
that  one  State  had  the  right  to  lord  it  over  an 
other.  But  that  as  our  Government  was  formed 
by  a  convention,  wherein  each  State  acted  without 
coercion,  so  only  could  it  be  perpetuated. 

However,  all  these  differences  were  thrown 
aside,  in  view  of  the  great  importance  of  getting 
the  abolition  party  out  .of  power.  Democrats  for 
got  tjiat  they  differed,  and  went  to  work  with  heart 
and  soul  to  defeat  Mr.  Lincoln,  believing  that  if 
they  could  elect  General  McClellan,  they  would  yet 
save  their  country  from  the  perils  of  consolidation 
and  abolitionism. 


THE   PRESIDENTIAL   ELECTION.  ETC.  551 

It  was  soon  discovered,  however,  that  no  fair 
election  was  to  be  allowed.  No  sooner  had  a  paper 
in  Baltimore  raised  MeClellan's  name  for  President 
than  it  was  suppressed  by  Mr.  Lincoln.  Most  of 
the  States  had  passed  laws  to  allow  the  soldiers  to 
vote  in  the  army.  Nearly  all  of  these  votes  were 
controlled  by  the  abolition  officers.  In  New  York, 
however,  an  effort  was  made  to  secure  a  fair  return 
of  the  soldiers'  votes  ;  but  Mr.  Lincoln  caused  the 
agent  of  New  York  State,  Colonel  North,  to  be  ar 
rested,  and  kept  him  in  prison  until  after  election 
Thousands  of  soldiers  who  wanted  to  vote  for 
McClellan  were  deprived  of  doing  so. 

But  the  queerest  movement  I  have  yet  to  state. 
Three  days  previous  to  the  election,  General  Butler, 
the  famous  "  hero  of  New  Orleans,"  was  sent  to  New 
York  to  take  command  of  troops  there,  and  large 
reinforcements  were  sent  with  him.  "When  he  ar 
rived,  he  put  on  the  same  pompous  swagger  that 
had  made  him  so  ridiculous  in  the  Crescent  City. 
He  took  a  large  hotel  for  his  headquarters  ;  had  tel 
egraphic  wires  carried  to  his  room,  and  stationed  his 
orderlies  around  his  hotel,  as  if  he  was  in  camp. 

He  then  commenced  his  "  campaign  "  by  send 
ing  for  a  gentleman  whom  he  had  heard  had 
spoken  against  him.  The  next  day,  when  the 
Democratic  papers  got  hold  of  it,  they  made  all 
manner  of  fun  of  Butler.  I  think,  on  the  whole, 
he  did  not  like  the  atmosphere  of  New  York  ;  for 
right  off  after  the  election,  he  slunk  away  between 
two  days,  I  believe,  and  was  not  heard  of  much 
for  some  time  afterwards. 


8S2  THE    PEHBIDBNTIAt   ELECTION,    ETC, 

It  has  always  been  somewhat  of  a  mystery  why 
Butler  was  sent  to  New  York.  The  abolitionista 
pretended  that  they  feared  a  riot  on  election  day  ; 
but  as  there  was  not  the  slightest  danger  of  that, 
it  has  been  suspected  that  if  the  election  went 
against  them,  they  intended  to  seize  power  at  once, 
and  prevent  the  inauguration  of  General  McClel- 
lan.  In  fact,  this  was  actually  threatened  by  some 
of  the  more  ultra  of  the  abolition  papers. 

The  result,  however,  was  all  that  Mr.  Lincoln 
could  have  desired.  General  McClellan  carried 
Kentucky,  Delaware,  and  New  Jersey.  All  of  the 
rest  of  the  States  voted  for  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  so 
the  abolition  party  had  another  four  years'  lease 
of  life. 

For  a  long  time  it  had  been  intended  to  make  an 
attack  on  Mobile.  So  in  July,  Admiral  Farragut 
and  General  Granger  began  to  make  preparations 
to  that  effect.  The  battle  opened  on  the  5th  of 
August.  There  were  two  forts  guarding  the  en 
trance  to  the  harbor,  Forts  Gaines  and  Morgan. 
Farragut's  guns  were  too  much  for  them,  for  he 
passed  them  in  spite  of  their  brave  fighting,  and 
cut  them  off  from  the  city,  so  that  they  were  com 
pelled  to  surrender. 

Farragut,  however,  wvas  not  through  with  the 
fight  yet.  The  Confederates  had  an  iron-clad  ram 
called  the  Tennessee,  and  with  this  they  gave  bat 
tle  to  Farragut's  whole  fleet.  It  was  one  of  the 
fiercest  fights  of  the  war.  But  the  odds  were  too 
great  for  the  Tennessee,  and  after  a  terrible  con 
flict,  she  surrendered.  Her  commander  was  Frank- 


THE   PRESIDENTIAL   ELECTION,    ETC.  353 

Buchanan,  who  commanded  the  Virginia  in  her 
with  the  Monitor  in  Hampton  Eoads.  Far- 
lost  many  men,  and  the  monitor  Tecumseh, 
whbh  was  blown  up  by  a  torpedo. 

Wilmington,. too,  had  long  been  an  eyesore  to 
fche  Federals  ;  for  despite  all  their  efforts  to  block 
ade  it,  they  had  never  succeeded,  and  vessels  ran  in 
and  out  almost  daily.  The  only  way  to  shut  up 
Wilmington  was  to  take  Fort  Fisher,  a  strong  work 
on  the  east  mouth  of  the  Cape  Fear  Eiver.  So 
the  famous  General  Butler  was  sent  with  a  land 
force  along  with  Admiral  Porter  with  a  fleet  to 
take  it. 

G-eneral  Butler  now  conceived  the  grandest  idea 
of  the  age.  He  thought  he  would  blow  Fort  Fisher 
into  little  bits  of  pieces  by  exploding  a  ship  filled 
with  three  hundred  tons  of  powder — as  near  to  it  as 
he  could  float  it.  So  the  experiment  was  tried,  and, 
lo !  "  nobody  was  hurt."  There  was  a  great  dull 
sound  like  that  of  a  dying  earthquake,  and  that 
was  all.  Porter  now  bombarded  the  fort  with  his 
fleet,  and  declared  that  he  had  silenced  all  the  guns. 
Gen.  Butler  then  sent  his  troops  ashore  to  assault 
the  fort  from  the  land  side,  but  did  not  dare  so 
much  as  to  set  foot  on  shore  himself.  His  troops 
marched  up  to  the  fort,  and  it  is  said,  killed  one 
old  horse,  and  returned,  stating  that  the  fort  could 
tiot  be  taken.  Butler  then  re-embarked  all  hands, 
and  sailed  for  Fortress  Monroe.  He  was  now 
laughed  at  more  than  ever,  and  called  the  "  hero 
of  Fort  Fisher." 


CHAPTEE  XLY. 
asN.  SHERMAN'S  MARCH  TO  SAVANNAH  AND  GOLDSBOBO 

WE  left  General  Sherman  with  his  array  at  At 
lanta.  He  now  conceived  the  bold  idea  of  march 
ing  it  directly  for  the  sea-coast  at  Savannah  or 
Charleston.  He  had  left,  even  after  sending  off 
General  Thomas,  not  less  than  fifty-five  or  sixty 
thousand  men,  and  the  Confederates  had  no  forces 
to  contend  with  him  except  the  local  militia  of 
Georgia  and  a  few  troops  on  the  sea-coast. 

On  the  12th  of  November  General  Sherman 
evacuated  Atlanta  for  his  grand  march.  He  sup 
plied  his  army  with  sixty  days'  rations  of  hard 
bread  and  took  along  several  thousand  beef  cattle; 
for  all  else  he  told  his  soldiers  they  must  live  off 
of  the  country,  that  is,  by  stealing  and  plundering. 
Before  leaving  Atlanta  he  completed  the  work  of 
destroying  the  city  by  fire,  and  had  it  not  been  for 
the  influence  of  a  devoted  Roman  Catholic  priest, 
who  went  among  his  soldiers  and  restrained  them, 
there  would  probably  have  been  scarcely  a  single 
house  left  standing.  Rome  was  also  burnt. 

General  Sherman  began  his  march  by  throwing 
out  his  cavalry  in  all  directions  and  threatening 
several  places  at  the  same  time ;  and  this  deception 


SHERMAN'S  MABCH  TO  SAVANNAH,  ETC.     355 

he  kept  up  during  his  entire  march.  The  main 
body  of  his  troops  really  never  deviated  far  from 
the  shortest  route  to  Port  Eoyal  or  Savannah. 
After  reaching  Milledgeville,  the  capital  of  Geor 
gia,  he  threw  out  strong  detachments,  threatening 
both  Macon,  on  the  south,  and  Augusta,  on  the 
north,  while  his  main  column  moved  directly  for 
the  coast.  General  Wheeler,  with  some  Confed 
erate  cavalry,  had  several  skirmishes  with  Kil- 
patrick  of  Sherman's  army,  but  beyond  this  there 
was  little  or  no  fighting. 

It  seems  to  have  been  Sherman's  intention  at 
first  to  go  to  Port  Eoyal,  where  reinforcements 
under  General  Foster,  and  supplies  for  his  army 
awaited  him  ;  but  in  order  to  do  this  he  had  to 
cross  the  Savannah  Biver.  General  Kilpatrick, 
however,  in  trying  to  do  this,  was  badly  repulsed, 
and  so  General  Sherman  lost  no  time  in  moving 
further  south. 

General  Foster  now  tried  to  open  communica 
tions  with  Sherman,  and  moving  out  a  force  to 
wards  the  Savannah  Biver,  was  met  by  General 
Gustavus  W.  Smith,  with  a  few  Georgia  'militia, 
who  fought  so  gallantly  that  Foster  was  obliged  to 
give  up  his  design,  and  allow  Sherman  to  work  out 
his  own  deliverance. 

Sherman  now  moved  quickly  to  the  south  of 
Savannah,  and  on  the  13th  of  December  assaulted 
and  captured  Fort  McAllister,  one  of  the  outer 
defences  of  the  city,  and  thus  opened  his  way  to 
Ossabaw  Sound,  where  the  Federal  fleet  was  await 
ing  him. 


356      SHERMAN'S  MARCH  TO  SAVANNAH,  ETC, 

This  march  of  Sherman's  had  been  marked  with 
more  than  his  usual  destruction.  Dead  horses, 
cows,  sheep,  hogs,  chickens,  turkeys,  together  with 
corn,  wheat,  cotton,  books,  paper,  broken  crockery, 
and  fragments  of  every  species  of  property,  strewed 
the  roads  in  the  path  of  his  army.  He  had  stolen 
thousands  of  negroes,  mules,  and  horses,  and  de 
stroyed  over  two  hundred  miles  of  railroad. 

In  a  few  days  he  determined  to  attack  Savannah. 
It  was  held  by  General  Hardee,  with  about  15,000 
troops,  altogether  too  small  a  number  to  contend 
with  the  great  army  opposed  to  it.  So  General  Har 
dee  one  night  quietly  evacuated  the  place,  blowing 
up  the  Confederate  vessels  and  destroying  such 
stores  as  he  could.  Sherman  was  very  angry  when 
he  saw  how  nicely  the  Confederates  had  slipped 
out  of  his  hands,  for  he  thought  certainly  that  he 
had  them  secure. 

He  now  remained  in  Savannah  about  a  month, 
recruiting  and  preparing  his  army  for  another 
march.  This  time  he  intended  to  move  northward 
towards  Columbia,  the  capital  of  South  Carolina, 
and  strike  the  coast  at  or  near  Goldsboro  or  Wil 
mington,  in  North  Carolina. 

For  many  miles  he  had  a  severe  march  through 
the  swamps  and  thickets  which  cover  the  low 
lands  of  the  Carolinas.  The  Confederate  forces, 
once  more  placed  under  the  command  of  General 
Jos.  E.  Johnston,  were  also  being  organized  to  op 
pose  him.  Still,  by  the  middle  of  February,  he 
reached  Columbia,  with  but  little  opposition. 

And  here  a  scene  occurred  which  the  pen  of 


SHERMAN'S    MARCH    TO    SAVANNAH,    ETC.        357 

history  almost  refuses  to  record.  Ever  since 
General  Sherman  had  entered  South  Carolina,  he 
had  "  shut  his  eyes/'  if  he  had  not  given  express 
orders  for  the  commission  of  the  acts  of  savage 
atrocity  with  which  his  path  was  now  marked.  It 
had  been  supposed  that  he  was  cruel  enough, 
heretofore,  but  now  there  seemed  to  be  no  restraint 
whatever  upon  his  soldiers. 

Columbia  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  cities  of 
America.  It  was  the  residence  of  the  wealthiest 
and  most  refined  people  of  South  Carolina.  They 
were  justly  proud  of  their  city,  and  took  every 
pains  to  preserve  it  from  destruction.  "When 
General  Sherman's  army  was  known  to  be  near, 
General  Wade  Hampton,  who  commanded  the 
cavalry  for  its  defence,  at  once  evacuated  the  city, 
so  as  to  give  Sherman  no  excuse  for  bombarding 
it.  The  mayor  of  the  city  went  out  to  meet  his  ad 
vance  forces,  and  formally  surrendered  it  to  Colonel 
Stone,  of  the  Fifteenth  Corps,  who  assured  him 
that  the  city  should  not  be  harmed  while  he  had 
command.  And  it  was  not.  This  was  about  nine 
o'clock  A.  M.  of  the  17th  of  February.  About 
eleven  o'clock  the  head  of  Sherman's  main  column 
reached  the  city,  and  then  the  work  of  destruction 
commenced. 

"Woe  unto  men  who  wore  gold  .watches,  or  had 
on  good  coats,  boots,  or  shoes.  They  were  stripped 
off  instantly.  Stores  and  houses  were  broken  open 
and  pillaged,  and  no  one  interfered  with  the  riot 
ous  soldiers.  About  one  o'clock  P.  M.,  to  add  to 
the  horrors  of  the  scene,  the  inhabitants  were 
25 


358      SHERMAN'S  MARCH  TO  SAVANNAH,  ETC.. 

startled  by  the  cry  of  "  fire."  The  citizens  rallied 
and  subdued  it.  Soon  there  was  another  fire. 
Again  they  rallied  and  put  it  out.  During  all  this 
time  Sherman  and  his  officers  were  in  the  streets, 
but  did  nothing  to  check  the  lawlessness  of  the 
soldiers,  who  now  destroyed  the  fire  engines,  and 
chopped  the  hose  into  pieces  with  their  swords  or 
pricked  it  with  their  bayonets,  so  as  to  render  it 
useless. 

Night  now  added  to  the  horrors  of  the  scene. 
As  many  as  twenty  fires  were  burning  at  a  time, 
and  the  lurid  flames  lit  up  the  sky  for  miles  and 
miles.  The  soldiers  carried  from  house  to  house 
vessels  containing  some  liquid,  like  spirits  of  tur 
pentine,  saturated  with  which  they  made  balls  of 
fire,  and  with  these  sent  the  devouring  flame  from 
dwelling  to  dwelling. 

A  writer  describing  this  fearful  scene  says  : 
"  Old  men  and  women  and  children  were  to  be 
seen  often,  while  the  flames  were  rolling  and  raging 
around  them,  while  walls  were  crackling  and  raft 
ers  tottering  and  trembling,  in  the  endeavor  to 
save  their  clothing  and  some  of  their  more  valuable 
effects.  They  were  driven  out  headlong,  pistols 
clapped  to  their  heads,  violent  hands  laid  on  their 
throats  and  collars,  and  the  ruffians  seemed  to 
make  little  distinction  in  their  treatment  of  men 
or  women.  Ladies  were  hustled  from  their  cham 
bers  with  the  strong  arm,  or  with  the  menacing 
pistol  at  their  hearts.  A  lady  undergoing  the 
pains  of*  labor  had  to  be  borne  on  a  mattrass  out 
into  the  open  air  to  escape  the  fire.  It  was  in  vain 


SHERMAN'S    MARCH  TO    SAVANNAH,   ETC,         359 

that  tier  situation  was  described  to  the  incendiaries 
as  they  applied  the  torch  to  her  house.  They  be 
held  the  situation  of  the  sufferer  and  laughed  to 
scorn  the  prayer  for  her  safety.  Another  lady  was 
recently  confined.  Her  life  hung  upon  a  hair 
The  demons  were  apprised  of  the  facts  of  the  case 
They  burst  into  her  chamber,  took  her  rings  from 
her  fingers,  plucked  the  watch  from  beneath  her  pil 
low,  shrieked  offensive  language  in  her  ears,  and  so 
overwhelmed  her  with  terror  that  she  lived  but  a  day 
or  two." 

At  one  time  the  people  sought  the  churches  for 
safety ;  but  the  abolition  fiends  drove  them  from 
these  refuges,  and  they  were  forced  to  seek  the 
open  park  of  the  city.  Even  here  they  were  not 
allowed  to  rest,  for  these  devils  incarnate  amused 
themselves  by  throwing  firebrands  among  the  weep 
ing  women  and  children  that  crowded  and  crouched 
in  the  enclosure.  At  a  single  blow  thousands 
of  people  were  homeless  ;  and  the  morning  of  the 
18th  of  February  dawned  upon  a  city  of  blackened 
and  smouldering  ruins. 

Sherman  had  this  time  done  his  work  thoroughly. 
All  the  business  portion  of  the  city,  the  main 
streets,  the  old  capitol,  &c.,  were  only  a  pile  of 
rubbish  and  brick.  The  long  chimneys  looked 
like  grim  sentinels  of  the  ravages  of  uncivilized 
warfare.  The  stately  trees  that  lined  the  streets 
were  blasted  and  withered,  and  broken  furniture, 
rich  paintings,  works  of  art,  all  that  a  refined  taste 
and  elegant  culture  could  have  wished,  laid  scat 
tered  over  the  streets.  On  every  side  were  do- 


360     SHERMAN'S  MAECH  TO  SAVANNAH,  ETC. 

spairing,  weeping,  and  helpless  women  and  chil* 
dren,  in  groups,  reduced  at  once  from  plenty  and 
luxury,  so  that  they  had  neither  food  to  eat  nor  a 
place  to  lay  their  heads. 

But  I  will  draw  the  veil  over  this  horrible  scene, 
and  pass  on.  It  is  proper  here  to  say,  however, 
that  General  Sherman  afterwards,*  apparently 
shocked  by  the  excesses  of  his  soldiers,  denied  that 
he  ordered  the  burning  of  Columbia,  but  alleged 
that  it  took  fire  from  burning  cotton,  which  had 
been  ordered  to  be  set  on  fire  by  General  Wade 
Hampton.  Of  course  General  Hampton  was  not 
the  man  to  rest  under  such  an  imputation  ;  and  he 
accordingly  wrote  a  letter  giving  an  account  of  the 
burning  of  Columbia  substantially  as  I  have  writ 
ten  it,  in  which  he  says,  "I  assert  what  can  be 
proved  by  thousands,  that  not  one  bale  of  cotton 
was  on  fire  when  he  (Sherman)  took  possession  of 
the  city.  His  assertion  to  the  contrary  is  false, 
and  he  knows  it  to  be  so." 

To  this  letter  General  Sherman  has  never  made 
any  reply  ;  but  Gen.  Hampton,  seeing  some  other 
assertions  to  the  same  effect,  wrote  a  letter  to  a 
member  of  Congress,  asking  for  a  committee  to  in 
vestigate  the  matter  ;  but  the  abolition  Congress 
did  not  dare  to  face  the  music.  So  they  said  Gen 
eral  Hampton  was  "  a  rebel,"  and  under  cover  of 
this  mere  subterfuge,  keep  on  repeating  the  false 
hood  in  their  histories, '  that  General  Hampton 
caused  Columbia  to  be  burned. 

But  this  will  not  succeed.  General  Hampton  is 
well  known  to  be  incapable  of  a  falsehood,  the  sou] 


SHERMAN'S    MARCH    TO    SAVANNAH,  ETC.       361 

of  honor  and  chivalry.  He  comes  from  the  best 
liberty-loving  stock  of  our  Eevolution.  His  grand 
father,  Gen.  Wade  Hampton,  was  a  gallant  officer 
in  the  war  of  1776.  His  father,  Colonel  Wade 
Hampton,  was  aid-de-camp  to  General  Jackson,  at 
the  battle  of  New  Orleans  ;  and  General  Hampton 
himself,  when  he  found  that  the  abolitionists  had 
determined  to  invade  the  South,  raised  a  legion,  and 
marched  at  once  to  Virginia.  Though  a  man  of 
great  wealth,  he  left  his  splendid  home  of  luxury 
and  art,  and  campaigned  it  all  through  the  war 
like  a  common  soldier. 

From  Columbia,  General  Sherman's  army 
marched  northward  toward  Charlotte.  All  along 
his  army  had  been  preceded  by  a  gang  of  men 
called  "bummers,"  who  robbed,  plundered,  and 
murdered  with  impunity.  A  more  graceless  set  of 
scamps  never  went  unhung.  Some  of  these  Gen 
eral  Sherman  said  had  been  killed  after  capture  ; 
and  he  wrote  to  General  Hampton  a  very  impudent 
letter,  stating  that  he  would  hang  man  for  man. 
General  Hampton  wrote  back  that  he  knew  noth 
ing  of  the  killing  of  any  of  his  "  foragers,"  as  he 
called  them  ;  but  he  gave  him  fair  notice,  that  if 
he  hung  a  single  Confederate  soldier,  he  would 
hang  two  Federals  ;  furthermore,  he  told  General 
Sherman  that  he  had  directed  his  men  to  shoot 
down  any  abolition  soldier  found  burning  houses, 
and  that  he  should  continue  to  do  this  as  long  as 
he  (Sherman)  disgraced  the  profession  of  arms  by 
destroying  private  dwellings.  "Your  line  of 
march,"  said  General  Hampton,  "  can  be  traced  by 


362         SBLEKV£AX'S    MAECH    TO    SAYAXXAH,  ETC. 

the  lurid  light  of  burning  houses  ;  and  in  more 
than  one  household  there  is  an  agony  far  mort 
bitter  than  death — a  crime  too  black  to  be  men 
tioned-" 

This  bold  talk  convinced  General  Sherman  that 
he  had  a  man  to  deal  with,  who  would  stand  none 
of  his  barbarity,  and  who  would  do  what  he 
said  he  would-  He  nerer  dared  to  hang  any  Con 
federate  as  he  threatened,  and  soon  afterwards 
made  his  army  behave  rather  better.  He  pursued 
his  way  towards  Fayetteville,  North  Carolina,  and 
finally  can_e  up  with  General  Johnston's  forces, 
who  attacked  him  near  Averysboro,  on  the  16th  of 
March,  and  drove  back  his  advance.  On  the  19th, 
another  fight  took  place  at  Bentonsville,  John 
ston  falling  back  with  his  forces  towards  Raleigh. 
Sherman  now  marched  into  Goldsboro,  where  he 
met  the  Federal  fleet  and  army  transports,  and 
rested  his  men,  after  the  vilest  plundering  tour  on 
record- 
He  had  mowed  a  swath  of  fire  right  through  the 
country.  Besides  burning  Columbia,  he  had 
wholly  or  partially  destroyed  in  South  Carolina  the 
Tillages  of  Barnwell,  Blackville,  Graham,  Bamberg, 
Buford's  Bridge,  Orangeburg,  Lexington,  Alston, 
Pomana,  Winnsboro,  Blackstacks,  Society  Hill, 
Camden,  and  Cheraw.  Along  the  line  of  his  march, 
there  was  scarcely  a  house  left  standing  from  tha 
Savannah  River  to  the  Pedee  I 


CHAPTEE  XLYI. 

EVENTS   OF    1865.      GENERAL   LEE's   SURRENDER. 

EVENTS  in  the  opening  of  1865  flew  along  thick 
and  fast.  It  was  evident  now  that  nothing  short 
of  remarkable  good  fortune  could  save  the  Confed 
erates  from  defeat.  Still  they  stoutly  held  out. 
They  believed  so  sincerely  in  the  justice  of  their 
cause,  and  had  such  undoubting  faith  in  their  gen 
erals,  that  they  refused  to  look  defeat  in  the  face 
or  even  to  think  it  possible. 

General  Grant,  after  Butler's  failure  at  Fort 
Fisher,  sent  General  A.  H.  Terry,  with  a  large 
force  and  Admiral  Porter's  fleet,  early  in  January, 
to  reduce  it.  Porter  bombarded  it  fiercer  than 
ever,  and  then  General  Terry  assaulted  it  with  a 
strong  force.  The  Confederates  fought  with  the 
most  determined  bravery,  but  were  overpowered 
and  forced  to  surrender. 

Wilmington,  of  course,  soon  followed,  and  no~v\ 
the  last  remaining  port  through  which  there  was 
any  chance  of  running  the  blockade  was  gone. 

Charleston  had  been  evacuated  when  Sherman 
took  Columbia.  The  gallant  city  had  after  all 
never  been  taken,  but  fell  only  as  the  result  of  a 
flank  movement. 


364  EVENTS    OF    1865. 

About  this  time  various  efforts  were  made  to 
wards  effecting  a  peace.  Mr.  F.  P.  Blair,  Senior, 
went  to  Richmond  to  see  the  Confederate  Presi 
dent,  and  through  his  exertions  Mr.  Davis  ap 
pointed  three  commissioners,  Messrs.  K.  M.  T. 
Hunter,  A.  H.  Stephens,  and  J.  A.  Campbell,  to 
confer  with  the  United  States  authorities.  Mr. 
Lincoln  would  not  allow  these  commissioners  to 
come  to  Washington.  So  on  the  3d  of  February, 
he  and  Mr.  Seward  met  them  in  a  steamer  off  For 
tress  Monroe. 

Congress  had  just  at  this  time  passed  a  so-called 
amendment  to  the  Constitution,  which  was  intend 
ed  to  legalize  Mr.  Lincoln's  free  negro  edict.  Mr. 
Lincoln  and  Mr.  Seward  would  offer  no  terms  of 
peace,  except  upon  their  accepting  this  negro 
equality  overthrow  of  the  Government.  Of  course 
they  could  do  no  worse  if  the  war  continued,  and 
while  there  was  life  there  was  hope.  The  South, 
therefore,  rejected  Mr.  Lincoln's  insulting  propo 
sal  to  get  down  voluntarily  to  a  level  with  their  ne 
groes.  If  forced  by  the  fortunes  of  war  into  that 
position,  they  at  least  determined  not  to  go  there 
willingly. 

This  so-called  amendment  to  the  Constitution 
was  in  fact  no  amendment  at  all,  but  the  introduc 
tion  of  new  matter  into  the  Constitution.  The 
power  to  control  the  negro  population  in  the  dif 
ferent  States  had  never  been  given  to  the  Federal 
Government,  hence  it  could  not  be  amended.  Be 
sides  it  was  a  usurpation,  to  change  the  Constitu 
tion  when  eleven  States  had  no  voice  in  the  matter, 


GEN.   WADE  HAMPTON. 


Page  364. 


EVENTS   OF    1865.  365 

and  afterwards  compel  them  to  submit  to  it  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet.  This  consolidation  of  power 
at  Washington,  however,  was  just  what  the  mon 
archical  abolition  party  desired.  This  "amend 
ment/''  fully  carried  into  effect,  changed  the  whole 
character  of  our  system  of  government,  and  made 
the  States  simple  provinces  ruled  over  by  a  central 
power.  The  desire  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  who 
wished  to  blot  out  the  States,  was  really  accom 
plished.  So  we  see  how  exactly  this  so-called  Ke- 
publican  party  corresponded  with  the  Tory,  Mon 
archical,  Federal  party  against  which  Mr.  Jefferson 
so  earnestly  warned  the  country. 

All  hopes  of  peace  having  now  been  banished 
from  men's  minds,  the  tug  of  war  was  soon  again 
to  commence.  Grant's  army  around  Richmond 
had  been  for  a  long  time  inactive,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  severe  and  heavy  skirmishes,  sometimes  on 
one  end  of  the  line  and  sometimes  on  the  other. 
It  was  evident  now  that  the  Confederates  were 
suffering  severely  from  the  want  of  supplies.  Gen 
eral  Sherman's  terrible  march  of  plunder  and  fire 
through  Georgia  and  the  Carolinas,  and  General 
Sheridan's  destruction  of  the  Virginia  Canal,  had 
cut  off  the  sources  of  General  Lee's  supplies. 
During  the  whole  of  the  winter  of  1864-65,  the 
daily  rations  of  Lee's  soldiers  were  only  a  pound 
of  flour  and  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  meat.  No 
thing  but  a  miracle  could  keep  an  army  together 
under  such  circumstances. 

The  spring  of  1865  therefore  opened  gloomily 
enough.  The  abolitionists  had  a  million  of  men 


366  EVENTS    OF    1865. 

in  arms  against  the  South  ;  while  the  South  had 
really  less  than  one  quarter  of  that  number,  and 
these  for  the  most  part  reduced  to  half  rations. 

It  was  therefore  evident  that  the  South,  after 
one  of  the,  most  gallant  and  glorious  struggles  ever 
made  by  any  people  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  must 
soon  yield  to  the  overwhelming  physical  force 
which  the  abolitionists  had  combined  against  her. 

Had  General  Lee  a  well-provisioned  army,  one 
half  as  large  as  General  Grant's,  the  results  would 
have  been  different. 

In  the  month  of  March,  however,  he  saw  plainly 
that  there  was  no  way  open  to  save  his  little  army 
but  to  get  his  half-starved  men  out  of  the  trenches 
in  front  of  Kichmond,  and  leave  that  city  to  be  oc 
cupied  by  the  abolition  army.  But  how  was  he  to 
get  out  ?  Every  point  was  occupied  by  an  im 
mense  army,  entrenched  in  works  which  Grant  had 
been  almost  a  whole  year  in  building. 

On  the  morning  of  the  25th  of  March,  Genera] 
Lee  made  his  first  attempt  to  break  through  the 
Federal  lines,  at  a  point  known  as  Fort  Steadman. 
The  fort  was  surprised  and  taken,  and  for  a  short 
time  the  Confederates  swept  everything  before 
their  furious  assault.  Their  victory  was  of  a  short 
duration,  for  they  were  soon  forced  to  retire  be 
fore  the  overwhelming  numbers  and  the  impregna 
ble  works  which  confronted  them.  Lee's  loss  in 
this  attempt  was  about  twenty-five  hundred  men, 
and  Grant's  about  the  same."  But  while  that  num 
ber  was  a  great  loss  to  Lee's  little  army,  it  was  of 
no  importance  whatever  to  Grant.  In  his  vast 


EVENTS    OP  1865.  367 

army  twenty-five  hundred  men  would  not  be 
missed.  He  could  have  slaughtered  as  man;? 
thousands  and  yet  remained  vastly  the  superior  of 
his  antagonist  in  point  of  numbers. 

On  Sunday  morning,  April  2d,  General  Lee  sent 
a  despatch  to  "President  Davis  that  he  should  that 
night  evacuate  the  defences  of  Eichmond.  This 
news  reached  Mr.  Davis  while  he  was  at  wor 
ship  in  St.  Paul's  Church.  It  is  said  that  as  he 
walked  out  of  church  his  face  bore  the  too  evident 
marks  of  the  unwelcome  nature  of  the  despatch. 

As  soon  as  the  darkness  of  night  shut  down, 
Lee  commenced  the  withdrawal  of  his  entire  army. 
It  was  effected  with  so  much  secrecy  and  skill  that 
Grant  had  no  idea  of  what  was  going  on  until  the 
Confederate  army,  numbering  about  twenty  thou 
sand  men,  was  sixteen  miles  away  on  the  road  to 
wards  Danville. 

Indeed  Grant  had  no  idea  of  Lee's  movement 
until  the  next  morning  the  sky  was  illumined  and 
the  earth  shook  with^the  blowing  up  of  the  iron 
clad  vessels  in  the  James  River,  and  the  burning 
of  the  Confederate  warehouses  in  Richmond.  So 
at  last  the  aboHtion  army  occupied  Richmond 
without  capturing  it. 

General  Grant,  however,  bestowed  little  atten 
tion  upon  Richmond ;  all  his  energies  were  directed 
to  the  pursuit  of  Lee. 

Before  G-eneral  Lee  abandoned  Richmond,  he 
gave  orders  that  large  supplies  for  his  army  should 
be  sent  forward  from  Danville  to  Amelia  Court 
House,  and  there  await  his  arrival.  These  sup- 


368  EVENTS    OF  1865. 

plies  reached  their  destination  on  Sunday  after- 
noon  ;  but  the  officer  in  charge  received  a  dispatch 
from  President  Davis  in  Eichmond  to  bring  tha 
train  immediately  to  that  place,  as  the  cars  were  to 
be  .used  to  transport  the  personal  property  of  the 
Confederate  Government.  The  officer  stupidly  sup 
posing  that  the  order  called  for  the  contents  of  the 
train  at  Richmond,  pushed  on  with  the  loaded  cars  ; 
and  so  when  Lee  went  to  Amelia  Court  House,  he 
found  himself  entirely  in  want  of  supplies  for  his 
army. 

All  hopes  of  escape  were  now  dashed  in  an  in 
stant  to  the  ground.  He  was  compelled  to  remain 
the  best  part  of  two  days  at  this  point  to  provide 
his  army  with  the  means  of  preserving  life.  This 
pause  was  fatal ;  for  on  the  afternoon  of  the  4th 
of  April,  Sheridan's  cavalry,  eighteen  thousand 
strong,  overtook  his  rear,  at  a  place  seven  miles 
distant  from  Amelia  Court  House.  Directly  behind 
Sheridan  was  coming  an  overwhelming  force  of  the 
abolition  army  :  and  Lee's  troops  were  literally  in 
a  condition  of  starvation.  They  had  commenced 
the  retreat  on  one  ration  a  day,  and  now  they  were 
reduced  to  less  than  half  a  single  ration  a  day.  An 
eye-witness  of  these  harrowing  scenes  says — "To 
wards  evening  of  the  5th,  and  all  day  long,  upon 
the  6th,  hundreds  of  men  dropped  from  exhaus 
tion,  and  thousands  let  fall  their  muskets  from  in 
ability  to  carry  them  any  further." 

On  the  evening  of  the  7th  of  April,  General  Lee 
received  a  letter  from  General  Grant,  asking  for 
the  surrender  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia 


EVENTS    OF  1865.  369 

General  Lee  replied,  asking  what  terms  General 
Grant  had  to  ofter.  To  which  he  returned  the  an 
swer,  that  he  should  require  the  following  terms  : 

"  All  officers  to  give  their  individual  paroles  not 
to  take  up  arms  against  the  United  States,  until 
properly  exchanged  ;  and  each  company  or  regi 
mental  commander  to  sign  a  like  parol  for  the  men 
of  their  commands.  The  arms,  artillery,  and  pub 
lic  property  to  be  stacked  and  packed,  and  turned 
over  to  the  officers  appointed  to  receive  them. 
This  will  not  embrace  the  side-arms  of  the  officers, 
nor  their  private  horses  or  baggage.  This  done, 
each  officer  and  man  will  be  allowed  to  return  to 
his  home,  not  to  be  disturbed  by  the  United  States 
authorities  so  long  as  they  observe  their  paroles,  and 
the  laws  in  force  where  they  may  reside." 

General  Lee  at  once  accepted  these  terms  ;  and 
on  the  10th  of  April,  1865,  Grant  and  Lee  met  at  a 
farm-house,  and  completed  the  arrangements  of 
surrender.  It  was  a  sad  and  touching  sight.  Stal 
wart  men  who  had  faced  death  in  a  score  of 
battle-fields  wept  like  children.  Others  broke 
their  muskets  in  very  rage.  Thousands  crowded 
around  their  noble  chief,  to  take  him  once  more  by 
the  hand.  "Words  could  not  express  his  feelings. 
With  tears  pouring  down  both  cheeks,  General 
Lee  commanded  voice  enough  to  say,  in  the  sim 
plest  language  of  the  heart,  "  Men,  we  have  fought 
through  this  war  together.  I  have  done  the  best 
I  could  for  you." 

There  is  but  little  more  to  be  written  of  the  war. 
When  President  Davis  received  General  Lee's 
26 


370  EVENTS    OF  1865. 

dispatch,  that  Richmond  must  be  evacuated,  he 
had  with  all  convenient  speed  moved  the  archives 
of  the  Confederate  Government  to  Danville.  Here 
he  awaited  news  from  Lee,  and  was  of  course  over 
whelmed  with  grief  when  he  heard  the  fatal  story 
of  his  surrender. 

In  the  meantime  General  Sherman  had  been 
pushing  General  Johnston.  He  had  forced  him 
from  Raleigh,  from  whence  he  had  fallen  back 
towards  Hillsboro.  When  Johnston  heard  of  Lee's 
surrender,  he  knew  that  all  further  resistance  was 
useless.  He  and  General  Sherman  arranged  terms 
of  surrender,  which  recognized  the  rights  of  the 
States,  and  which  in  effect  restored  the  old  Union, 
just  what  the  abolitionists  declared  in  1861  they 
were  going  to  fight  for.  No  sooner,  however,  did 
they  hear  of  it,  than  they  raised  a  hue  and  cry  in 
the  North  perfectly  deafening.  Sherman  was  every 
where  denounced  in  the  most  bitter  language, 
and  the  authorities  at,  Washington  rejected  the 
terms  he  had  made  with  Johnston. 

Soon  after  this,  Mobile  capitulated,  and  the  last 
week  in  May  General  Kirby  Smith,  commanding 
the  Confederate  troops  west  of  the  Mississippi 
River,  also  surrendered  all  his  forces  to  General 
Can  by. 

The  last  fight  of  the  war  occurred  on  the  13tli 
of  May,  at  Brazos,  in  Western  Texas,  between  a 
Federal  regiment  itnd  a  band  of  Confederates. 
The  Confederates  won  the  day  ;  so  in  the  first  and 
last'  battles  they  were  victorious  I 


CHAPTEE  XLVII. 

THE   ASSASSINATION   OF   MB.  LINCOLN. 

THE  war  had  ended.  Four  weary  years  of 
bloodshed  and  misery  had  passed  away.  The 
abolitionists  had  subdued  ."  the  rebellion,"  as  they 
nicknamed  the  resistance  of  the  South  to  their 
revolutionary  projects  ;  and  now  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
brought  face  to  face  with  an  issue  which  he  could 
no  longer  dodge,  or  upon  which  he  could  no  longer 
prevaricate. 

Would  he  consent  to  allow  the  Southern  States 
to  resume  their  old  places  in  the  Union,  or  would 
he  use  the  power  now  in  his  hands  to  compel  them 
to  relinquish  their  State  laws  and  institutions? 
He  had  told  the  world  in  the  commencement  of 
the  war  that  "  the  condition  of  each  State  and  each 
person  would  remain  the  same,  whether  the  war 
succeeded  or  failed."  But  would  he  stand  by  his 
word  ?  No  one  except  those  blinded  by  an  insane 
admiration  of  the  man  expected  it. 

His  falsehoods  and  broken  pledges  would  make 

monument  of  infamy  before  which  a,ny  honorable 
man  would  have  hid  his  head  for  shame.  On  the 
4th  of  March,  1861,  he  declared  "  that  he  had  no 
lawful  right  to  interfere  with  slavery,  nor  any  in 
clination  to  do  so."  In  July,  1861,  he  endorsed 


372         THE    ASSASSINATION    OF    ME.  LINCOLN. 

tlie  resolution  that  "  the  war  was  waged  to  pre 
serve  the  rights  and  equality  of  the  States  unim 
paired."  On  the  day  before  the  extra  session  of 
Congress  adjourned  in  1861,  and  when  he  was  try 
ing  to  get  troops,  he  told  Mr.  Mallory,  of  Kentucky, 
that  "  the  war  was  carried  on  by  him  on  the  idea 
that  there  was  a  Union  sentiment  at  the  South, 
which,  set  free  from  the  control  of  the  Confederate 
Government,  would  replace  the  States  in  the 
Union.  If  there  were  not/'  then,  he  said,  "the 
war  in  not  only  a  wrong,  but  a  crime" 

In  his  Inaugural  Address  he  declared  that  the 
"  endurance  of  our  political  fabric  depended  upon 
the  right  of  each  State  to  control  its  domestic  in 
stitutions."  Yet  January  1st,  1863,  he  issued  a 
proclamation  declaring  that  he  would  use  the  army 
and  navy  to  prevent  this  "  endurance  of  our  politi 
cal  system."  On  the  12th  of  December,  1862,  he 
wrote  to  Fernando  Wood  of  New  York,  that  "  if 
the  people  of  the  Southern  States  would  cease  re 
sistance  and  submit  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  then  the  war  should  cease  on  the 
part  of  the  United  States."  But  July  18th,  1864, 
he  published  "  To  whom  it  may  Concern,"  in  which 
he  declared  that  he  would  listen  to  no  terms  of 
peace  from  the  South,  which  did  not  agree  to  the 
abandonment  of  their  rights  under  the  Constitution ! 

Mr.  Lincoln  had  played  his  part  well.  With  a 
cunning  that  passes  human  comprehension  he  had 
gone  just  fast  enough  and  not  too  fast  for  the  safe 
accomplishment  of  his  purposes.  As  war  had  in 
creased  the  hate  of  the  people,  Mr.  Lincoln  found 


THE    ASSASSINATION    OF    MB.  LINCOLN.       373 

he  could  take  a  step  or  two  further,  and  so  lie  had 
gone  on  from  one  thing  to  another,  until  his 
record,  as  we  have  shown  above,  was  that  of  a 
trickster,  a  falsifier,  and  an  oath-breaker. 

Such,  after  the  false  and  lying  flattery  of  the 
hour  passes  away,  must  be  the  candid  judgment 
of  history  on  Abraham  Lincoln.  I  do  not  give 
this  view  of  his  character  and  acts  as  any  justifica 
tion  for  what  I  am  about  to  relate  occurred  to  him, 
for  private  individuals  have  never,  in  organized 
society,  the  right  to  take  the  punishment  of  crimes 
in  their  own  hands.  That  belongs  to  the  law.  I 
feel  it  a  duty,  however,  in  writing  this  history,  and 
particularly  for  the  sake  of  the  young,  to  show 
them  what  sort  of  a  man  Mr.  Lincoln  really  was. 
Thousands  of  pages  have  been  written  to  extol  his 
virtues  and  praise  his  name,  simply  because  he  was 
the  representative  of  the  abolition  delusion,  but  it 
is  the  record  of  history  which  time  can  never  blot 
out  that  his  career  as  President  was  a  shameless 
four  years  of  deceptions,  falsehoods,  and  crimes 
against  liberty. 

No  sooner  was  Eichmond  evacuated  than  Mr. 
Lincoln  paid  it  a  visit.  He  was  received  in  gloomy 
silence  by  its  citizens,  and  after  gratifying  his  cu 
riosity  by  staying  a  few  hours  in  the  deserted  resi<* 
dence  of  Jefferson  Davis,  he  returned  to  Washing 
ton. 

While  in  Richmond  he  had  a  conference  with 
Judge  John  A.  Campbell,  in  relation  to  the  resto 
ration  of  Virginia  to  the  Union.  The  details  of 
this  conference  are  as  yet  unknown,  for  but  one  of 


374          THE    ASSASSINATION    OF  MK.  LINCOLN. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  letters  bearing  upon  it  has  ever  been 
published.  All  patriotic  men  who  desired  to  see 
our  country  restored  were  in  hopes  that  Mr.  Lin 
coln  would  allow  the  Virginia  Legislature  to  meet 
and  make  arrangements  for  that  purpose. 

In  his  interview  with  Judge  Campbell  he  agree 
to  do  so,  and  gave  orders  to  General  Weitzel,  then 
in  command  there,  to  allow  the  members  to  come 
to  Eichmond,  upon  the  terms  that  they  would  re 
store  the  State  to  the  Union. 

When  Mr.  Lincoln,  however,  returned  to  Wash 
ington,  he  again  deliberately  broke  his  promise, 
and  while  the  whole  country  was  congratulating 
itself  upon  the  adoption  of  a  policy  which  would 
heal  the  wounds  the  war  had  made,  it  was  startled 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  14th  of  April  with  the 
news  that  Mr.  Lincoln  had  refused  to  allow  the 
Virginia  Legislature  to  meet,  in  fact,  had  given 
General  Weitzel  positive  orders  to  prevent  it.  Thus 
had  Virginia,  the  grand  old  State  of  Washing-ton 
and  Jefferson,  been  completely  stricken  down  as  a 
commonwealth.  The  fact  of  driving  the  Confed 
erate  Government  from  Eichmond  did  not  affect 
the  dignity  and  sovereignty  of  Virginia,  but  this 
last  act  blotted  out  the  State  and  reduced  her  to 
the  condition  of  a  province  of  the  Federal  Govern 
ment. 

It  was,  however,  the  last  order  that  Mr.  Lincoln 
lived  to  promulgate.  That  very  night  he  visited 
Ford's  Theatre  in  Washington,  and  was  killed  by 
a  pistol  shot  fired  by  one  John  Wilkes  Booth. 
Booth  had  entered  the  theatre  unobserved,  and 


THE  ASSASSINATION  OF  ME.  LINCOLN.         375 

making  his  way  to  the  President's  box,  took  delib 
erate  aim  and  fired,  then  dropping  his  pistol  and 
drawing  a  knife,  jumped  from  the  box  to  the  stage 
of  the  theatre,  and,  brandishing  his  weapon, 
cried,  "Sic  semper  tyrannis*  Virginia  is  avenged." 
And,  in  a  moment,  before  the  people  could  recover 
from  their  fright,  he  dashed  across  the  stage,  out 
of  the  back  door  of  the  theatre,  and  jumping  upon 
a  fleet  horse  that  he  had  awaiting  him,  was  soon 
lost  in  the  darkness  of  the  night. 

At  about  the  same  hour  of  the  night  a  man  had 
applied  at  the  residence  of  Mr.  Seward,  Secretary 
of  State,  and  desired  to  see  him,  but  was  refused, 
as  Mr.  Seward  was  ill  from  the  effects  of  an  injury' 
he  had  received  a  few  days  -previously,  by  being 
thrown  from  his  carriage.  The  man,  however, 
refused  to  take  no  for  an  answer,  and  knocking 
down  the  servant  who  opened  the  door,  pushed 
his  way  up  stairs  to  Mr,  Se ward's  room.  Here  he 
was  met  by  one  of  Mr.  Seward's  sons  and  an  at 
tendant.  He  stabbed  both  so  severely  as  to  dis 
able  them,  then  rushed  upon  Mr.  Seward  and  cut 
him  so  badly  about  the  face  and  neck  that  his 
life  was  for  several  days  despaired  of,  but  he  finally 
fully  recovered.  Mr.  Lincoln  lingered  but  a  few 
aours. 

As  the  news  of  these  deeds  spread,  the  country 
was  fairly  wild.  The  excitement  of  the  war  had 
been  nothing  to  the  fierce  gust  of  passion  that  now 
swept  over  the  land.  The  imagination  of  every 

*  So  always  with  tyrants. 


376  THE    ASSASSINATION    OF   MB.  LINCOLN. 

abolitionist  formed  a  thousand  conspiracies.  For 
over  two  weeks  the  real  actors  in  this  tragedy 
were  veiled  in  profound  mystery. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  friends  and  adherents  made  the 
most  of  the  circumstances.  All  sober-minded 
people  felt  deeply  pained  that  the  soil  of  America 
should  be  stained  with  an  assassination,  but  they 
could  not  help  thinking  that  the  Holy  Bible  had 
taught  us,  "  Be  not  deceived.  God  is  not  mocked. 
That  which  a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap." 
Many  of  the  abolition  clergy,  however,  declared 
that  Providence  had  raised  up  Booth  to  remove 
Lincoln,  as  it  was  evident  that  he  was  going  to  be 
"too  lenieni  with  the  rebels." 

The  funeral  of  Mr.  Lincoln  was  gotten  up  in  the 
most  magnificent  proportions.  No  monarch  was 
ever  buried  with  such  pomp  and  expense.  No  one 
then  even  dared  to  protest  against  the  ridiculous 
display.  His  body  was  borne  on  a  funeral  car  cost 
ing  some  twenty  thousand  dollars,  and  exhibited 
to  the  people  in  all  the  principal  cities  from  Wash 
ington  to  Springfield,  111.,  where  he  was  buried. 
The  foolish  abolitionists  seemed  to  think  that  they 
were  going  to  cheat  history  out  of  telling  the 
truth  about  their  hero,  by  the  grand  display  they 
made. 

I  will  now  return  to  Booth  and  his  fate.  John 
Wilkes  Booth,  who  had  shot  Mr.  Lincoln,  was  a 
young  man  of  no  ordinary  character.  He  was  the 
son  of  Junius  Brutus  Booth,  the  celebrated  actor, 
and  was  born  in  Maryland.  He  was  noted  for  hia 
generous,  manly  deportment,  and  was  dearly  be- 


THE    ASSASSIN ATION    OF    MK.  LINCOLN.  3-7 V 

loved  by  all  his  associates.  He  had  a  faculty  of 
winning  people  to  him.  His  personal  appearance 
is  described  as  remarkably  beautiful.  "  His  chest 
was  full  and  broad,  his  shoulders  gently  slop 
ing,  and  his  arms  as  white  as  alabaster,  but  hard 
as  marble.  His  dark  eyes,  lofty,  square  fore 
head,  crowned  with  a  weight  of  curling  jetty 
hair,  gave  him  a  countenance  at  once  striking  and 
haughty." 

When  he  left  the  theatre,  after  firing  the  fatal 
shot,  he  was  accompanied  by  but  one  attendant — 
a  simple-minded  young  fellow,  named  Harold,  who 
seemed  always  to  do  his  bidding.  In  jumping 
from  the  box  to  the  stage,  he  had  broken  a  bone 
of  one  of  his  ankles,  and  this  retarded  his  flight. 
As  it  was,  he  had  succeeded  in  making  his  way 
through  Lower  Maryland,  and  across  the  Po 
tomac,  and  was  quietly  resting  at  night  in  a 
barn,  near  Bowling  Green,  in  Virginia/  when  a 
force  of  twenty-five  men,  which  had  been  sent 
from  Washington,  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Con 
ger  and  Lieutenant  Baker,  to  search  for  him, 
surrounded  the  barn,  and  demanded  his  sur 
render. 

Booth  replied  with  defiance.  They  then  threat 
ened  to  fire  the  barn.  Harold  got  frightened  and 
wished  to  surrender.  Booth  generously  let  him 
out  of  the  barn  ;  but  so  afraid  were  these  twenty- 
five  soldiers  of  one  unarmed  boy,  that  they  insisted 
he  should  put  his  arms  out  of  the  barn  first,  and 
have  them  shackled !  Booth  was  now  alone,  and 
determined  to  sell  his  life  as  dearly  as  possible. 


378         THE   ASSASSINATION    OF    ME.    LINCOLN* 

Again  the  demand  was  made  upon  him  to  surren* 
der.  Again  he  refused. 

"Draw  off  your  men,"  he  shouted  to  Colonel 
Conger,  "  and  I  will  fight  them  singly.  I  could 
have  killed  you  six  times  to-night,  but  I  would  not 
murder  you." 

And  no  doubt,  protected  by  the  barn,  he  could 
have  done  as  he  said.  The  barn  was  now  fired, 
and  while  it  was  burning,  a  man  named  Boston 
Corbett,  one  of  Conger's  men,  took  deliberate 
aim,  and  shot  him.  He  lingered  a  short  time 
and  died.  His  last  words  were,  "Tell  mother 
I  died  for  my  country.  I  thought  I  did  for  the 
best." 

His  body  was  taken  to  Washington,  and  the 
savage  abolitionists  gloated  over  it  with  cannibal 
ferocity.  As  I  have  said,  this  vile  delusion  trans 
forms  men  into  brutes.  They  not  only  refused  to 
turn  the  body  over  to  his  weeping  mother,  but 
they  tore  out  its  entrails,  and  threw  them  to  the 
hogs.  His  skull  was  placed  in  some  museum,  his 
heart  preserved  in  spirits,  his  spinal  column  given 
to  some  medical  college,  while  the  balance  of  his 
remains  were  deposited  no  one  knows  where!* 
Such  is  abolition  Christianity ! 

When  John  Brown  was  tried  and  executed,  his 
remains  were  placed  in  a  decent  coffin  and  handed 
3ver  to  his  friends.  Yet  "  slavery"  is  said  to  have 
made  the  South  semi-savage. 

*  These  statements  were  made  by  Hon.  B.  G.  Harris,  of  Mary 
land,  without  contradiction,  in  a  speech  on  the  floor  of  Congress* 
J  16th,  1866. 


JOHN  WILKES  BOOTH. 


Page  378. 


THE   ASSASSINATION    OP   ME.    LINCOLN.         370 

Whatever  history  may  say  of  the  crime  of  Johu 
Wilkes  Booth,  he  was  surely  no  common  murderer 
It  was  from  no  thirst  for  blood,  no  mean  personal 
revenge,  no  expectation  of  gain  or  reward,  that  he 
took  the  life  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  Indeed  he  sac 
rificed  all  that  a  young  man  might  hold  dear. 
Behind  him  he  left  a  letter,  in  which  he  showed  the 
marks  of  a  mind  that  comprehended  fully  the  poli 
tical  situation  of  the  country.  He  referred  to  the 
wrongs  the  abolitionists  would  inflict  upon  the 
negro  by  their  insane  course,  and  concluding  it, 
said : 

"  Eight  or  wrong,  God  judge  me,  not  man.  I 
love  peace  more  than  life.  Have  loved  the  Union 
beyond  expression.  For  four  years  have  I  waited, 
hoped,  and  prayed  for  the  dark  clouds  to  break, 
and  for  a  restoration  of  our  former  sunshine.  To 
wait  longer  would  be  a  crime.  All  hope  for  peace 
is  dead.  My  prayers  have  proved  as  idle  as  my 
hopes.  God's  will  be  done.  I  go  to  see  and  share 
the  bitter  end." 

The  investigations  of  the  War  Department 
seemed  to  reveal  a  plot  or  conspiracy,  in  which 
Boqth,  as  the  master  spirit,  had  involved  several 
persons.  The  individual  who  had  stabbed  Mr. 
Seward  proved  to  be  one  Louis  Payne,  and  be 
sides  him  Harold,  a  man  named  Atzerott,  Mrs,, 
Surratt,  Dr.  Mudd,  and  one  or  two  others,  were 
tried  by  a  Military  Commission,  and  the  first  four 
weie  condemned  and  hanged.  The  others  were 
sent  to  the  Dry  Tortugas. 

This  body  was   an  illegal  court,  and  had  no 


380         THE   ASSASSINATION    OF   ME.   LINCOLN. 

more  right  to  try  the  prisoners  before  it  than 
the  people  of  Washington  had  to  lynch  them. 
Their  execution  was  in  law  murder.  But  the 
abolitionists  were  so  raving  crazy  at  the  time 
that  nothing  else  would  satisfy  them.  They  were 
all  executed  in  tne  most  indecent  haste,  being 
allowed  but  twenty-four  hours  after  their  convic 
tion,  to  prepare  for  death. 

One  singular  fact  in  connection  with  all  these 
remarkable  scenes,  such  as,  I  trust,  America  will 
never  again  be  called  upon  to  witness,  remains  to 
be  mentioned.  There  was  no  coroner's  inquest 
held  on  Mr.  Lincoln's  body  ;  no  legal  evidence  taken 
as  to  the  manner  of  his  death,  nor  was  a  single  per 
son  accused  of  connection  with  it  ever  brought  into 
a  court  of  law,  nor  is  there  to  this  day  any  legal  testi 
mony  whatever  as  to  the  manner  of  his  death,  the  cause 
of  it,  or  who  killed  him. 

All  we  know  of  it  is  such  evidence  as  was  fur 
nished  the  public  by  a  military  tribunal,  which  was 
managed  in  such  a  one-sided,  arbitrary  and  insult 
ing  manner,  that  the  Hon.  Reverdy  Johnson,  the 
counsel  of  one  of  the  prisoners,  left  "  the  Court"  in 
disgust,  his  self-respect  not  allowing  him  to  re 
main  where  all  just  rules  of  evidence  were  set  at 
defiance,  and  where  respectable  lawyers  were  con 
tinually  subjected  to  the  insults  of  ignorant  audi 
brutal  military  officers. 


CHAPTEE  XLYIII. 

THE  CAPTURE  OF  JEFFERSON  DAVIS. 

WHEN  Mr.  Davis  heard  of  General  Lee's  surren- 
dor  at  Danville,  lie  immediately  started  for  North 
Carolina,  where  he  met  and  had  a  consultation 
with  General  Johnston.  He  then  left  for  Charlotte, 
where  he  remained  until  after  the  news  arrived 
from  "Washington  of  the  rejection  of  General  Sher 
man's  terms  of  surrender.  He  then  crossed  the 
State  of  South  Carolina,  and  reached  Washington, 
Georgia,  attended  by  a  few  friends  and  a  small 
escort  of  cavalry  who  had  belonged  to  General 
Morgan's  brigade. 

Here  Mr.  Davis  heard  for  the  first  time  of  his 
wife  and  family,  who  had  left  Richmond  more  than 
a  month  previous  to  his  own  departure.  They 
were  intending  to  go  to  the  coast  of  Florida,  and 
sail  for  Cuba.  Mr.  Davis  himself  intended  to 
work  his  way  across  the  Mississippi  River,  and  to 
make  such  further  resistance  as  he  could,  "in 
hopes,"  as  he  said,  "  to  get  some  better  terms  for 
the  South  than  surrender  at  discretion." 

At  Washington,  however,  Mr.  Davis  heard  fear 
ful  rumors  of  the  robberies  and  outrages  which 
gangs  of  disbanded  soldiers  were  perpetrating  upon 


382     THE  CAPTURE  OF  JEFFERSON  DAVIS* 

defenceless  people,  and  being  pretty  well  convinced 
that  Mrs.  Davis  was  in  danger,  he  resolved  to  go 
to  her  succor. 

He  rode  seventy  miles  in  a  single  day,  in  order 
to  reach  his  family,  and  believing  that  they  were 
in  real  danger,  resolved  to  travel  with  them  for  a 
few  days,  until  they  got  out  of  the  region  that  was 
infested  with  deserters  and  robbers. 

In  the  early  morning  of  the  10th  of  May,  a  month 
after  the  evacuation  of  Richmond,  Colonel  Pritch- 
ard,  of  the  Michigan  cavalry,  surrounded  the  little 
camp  of  Mr.  Davis  and  his  family,  near  Irwinsville, 
Georgia,  and  made  them  all  prisoners.  Some  one 
started  the  falsehood  that  Mr.  Davis  tried  to  escape 
in  his  wife's  clothes,  and  this  ridiculous  story  was 
telegraphed  all  over  the  North,  for  the  especial 
delight  of  the  abolitionists.  Colonel  Pritchard's 
official  report,  however,  did  not  confirm  the  story, 
so  this  abolition  falsehood  fell  to  the  ground. 

Mr.  Davis  and  his  family  were  taken  to  Macon, 
Georgia,  and  thence  to  Savannah,  where  they  were 
placed  on  board  a  vessel,  which  at  once  sailed  for 
Fortress  Monroe.  Here  he  was  separated  from  his 
family,  and  placed  in  a  casemate  of  the  fort,  under 
a  strong  guard,  his  wife  and  family  being  sent  back 
to  Savannah. 

For  a  long  time  Mr.  Davis  was  shut  out  entirely 

om  public  view.  He  was  placed  in  solitary  con 
finement,  allowed  to  see  no  one,  to  have  no  books 
except  the  Bible  and  prayer-book,  and  fed  for 
Borne  time  upon  the  poorest  rations  of  a  common 
soldier.  His  wife,  too,  was  denied  all  access  to 


THE  CAPTUEE  OF  JEFFERSON  DAVIS.     383 

him,  and  prevented  from  even  writing  to  him. 
Two  soldiers  were  ordered  to  pace  his  cell  day  and 
night ;  and  as  this  treatment  had  not  reached  the 
sublimity  of  cruelty,  another  torture  was  invented. 
An  order  came  .from  Washington  that  Jefferson 
Davis  must  be  shackled  ! 

When  the  officer,  with  the  blacksmith  and  his 
assistant,  came  in  with  the  shackles  dangling  in  his 
hands,  Mr.  Davis  exclaimed — 

"  My  God,  you  cannot  have  been  sent  to  iron 
me." 

"  Such  are  my  orders,"  replied  the  officer.  "  Do 
your  duty,  blacksmith,"  he  continued. 

In  a  moment  the  weak  and  emaciated  form  of 
Mr.  Davis  seemed  to  be  tranformed  into  that  of  a 
giant's  strength,  and  with  that  superhuman  power 
which  only  frenzy  can  impart,  he  seized  the  black 
smith  and  hurled  him  across  the  room  ;  then  with 
scorn  and  indignation  on  his  pale,  quivering  lip,  he 
fiercely  said  : 

"  I  am  a  prisoner  of  war.  I  have  been  a  soldier 
in  the  armies  of  America,  and  I  know  how  to  die. 
Only  kill  me,  and  my  last  breath  shall  be  a  blessing 
on  your  head.  But  while  I  have  life  and  strength 
to  resist,  for  myself  and  my  people,  this  thing 
shall  not  be  done/' 

A  file  of  soldiers  were  now  brought  in,  and  seiz 
ing  Mr.  Davis,  of  course  the  struggle  was  soon 
over,  and  this  last  act  of  abolition  infamy  and  bar 
barity  was  consummated. 

In  a  few  days  it  was  discovered  that  Mr.  Davis 
would  not  survive  Tinder  this  treatment,  and  as  he 


384         THE   CAPTURE    OF   JEFFERSON   DAVIS. 

was  rapidly  sinking,  an  order  came  for  the  removal 
of  the  shackles.  Since  then  he  has  been  in  prison, 
denied  his  liberty,  and  refused  a  fair  and  speedy 
trial,  such  as  even  the  vilest  criminal  is  entitled  to, 

It  is  extremely  doubtful  whether  the  abolition- 
asts  will  ever  dare  to  bring  him  before  a  fair  tri 
bunal  ;  for  in  that  case  they  would  themselves  be 
proved  the  traitors  and  rebels  which  they  accuse 
him  of  being.  After  awhile  he  will  probably,  un 
der  some  pretext,  be  allowed  his  liberty,  and  thus 
will  end  the  last  act  in  the  four  years'  tragedy  of 
sorrow  and  bloodshed,  which  abolitionism,  by  its 
mad  and  sinful  crusade,  has  inflicted  upon  our 
beloved  country. 

Whether  the  Union  of  our  fathers,  the  Govern 
ment  as  it  was  formed,  can  ever  again  be  restored, 
remains  to  be  seen !  Yet  that  ought  to  be  the  su 
preme  object  to  which  every  American,  old  and 
young,  should  now  devote  his  life.  Let  everj 
young  man,  then,  register  a  solemn  vow  in  Heave^ 
that,  if  God  spares  his  life,  he  will  devote  it  to  the 
sacred  duty  of  rolling  back  this  abolition  monar 
chical  revolution — to  spreading  the  truth  in  rela 
tion  to  it,  and  thus  educating  a  generation  to  hate 
it. 

If  every  person,  who  loves  the  simple  and  Chris 
tian  principles  of  republican  government  wiH 
thus  do  his  duty,  that  Almighty  Power  which 
"  chastens  only  to  heal,"  will  not  forsake  our  coun 
try,  nor  give  it  over  forever  into  the  hands  of 
those  who  "  fear  not  God,  nor  regard  man." 


VAN  EVRIE,  HOBTON  &  GO.'S 


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deeds  which  tyranny  always  resorts  to  in  fastening  its  miseries  upon  mankind. 
This  great  novel  is  most  appropriately  brought  put  in  this  country  at  the  present 
time,  and  cannot  fail  to  make  a  profound  sensation.  Other  great  literary  novel 
ties  will  appear  in  the  Sixth  Volume  of  THE  OLD  GUAED,  which  will,  it  is  believed, 
render  it  even  more  acceptable  to  the  fireside  than  its  predecessors. 


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THE  OLD  GUAKD.  Vol.  1,  1863,  contains  Steel  Portraits  of  Horatio  Sey 
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THE  OLD  GUARD.  Vol.  3,  1865,  contains  the  New  Novel  by  Dr.  T.  Dunn 
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Among  the  important  articles  in  this  volume  wo  may  mention  "The  Civilization  of  the 
Tropics,"  "Have  States  a  Right  to  withdraw  from  the  Union?"  "Our  Colonial  and  State 
Unions,"  "The  American  Kaces,"  "  History  of  the  Northern  War  of  Tariffs  on  the  South," 
;  White  Supremacy  and  Negro  Subordination,"  "  Massachusetts  and  Virginia,"  "  Sketch  of 
the  llise  and  Progress  of  Puritanism,"  "History  of  Old  Brown,"  by  President  Johnson  ; 
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'The  Crimes  of  Modern  Philanthropy,"  "The  Meaning  of  the  Phrase,  People  of  the  United 
States,"  "  Singular  Records  of  the  French  Bastile,"  "  Aphorisms  on  Government  and  Liber 
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liament,  from  1641  to  179G,"  "Camp  Lee,  Richmond." 


THE  OLD  GUARD.  Vol.  4,  1866,  contains  Steel  Portraits  of  General  R.  E. 
Lee,  Stonewall  Jackson,  J.  E.  Johnston,  Bcauregard,  Ewell,  Longstrcct, 
Wade  Hampton,  Polk,  Sterling  Price,  G.  Yf.  Smith,  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  and  A.  P. 
Hill.  Octavo,  7G3  pp.  Price,  $4  00. 

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iviug  the  inside  of  Virginia  life  during  the  great  Civil  War. 

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Merchant,  Farmer,  Mechanic,  and  all  who  desire  to  bo  politically  intelligent. 
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NEW    YORK    DAY-BOOK 

IFOS,  isee. 

THE  NEW  YORK  DAT-BOOK  is  a  straightforward,.  Radical  Democratic  paper, 
with  a  larger  circulation  than  any  other  Democratic  journal  ever  published  on 
this  Continent,  and  it  enters  on  the  threshold  of  1868  more  prosperous  and 
more  hopeful  of  the  great  cause  it  upholds  than  ever  before.  Standing  on 

the  foundation  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  that  f'  all  (white)  men  are  created 
equal,"  and  therefore  entitled  to  equal  rights,  it  is  opposed  to  all  forms  and  degrees  of 
special  legislation  that  conflict  with  this  grand  central  TRUTH  of  Democracy,  and  over 
all,  and  above  all,  does  it  combat  that  monstrous  treason  to  American  liberty, 
which,  thrusting  the  negro  element  into  our  political  system,  must  of  necessity  wreck  the 
whole  mighty  i'abric  left  us  by  our  fathers.  God  has  created  white  men  superior,  and 
n egroes  inferior,  and  therefore,  all  the  efforts  of  the  past  five  years  to  abolish  His  work, 
and  equalize  with  negroes — every  law  violated,  every  State  Constitution  overthrown, 
every  life  sacrificed,  and  every  dollar  expended,  are  necessarily  just  so  many  steps  to 
wards  national  suicide  ;  and  the  simple  and  awful  problem  now  upon  us  is  just  this — 
shall  we  recover  our  reason  and  retrace  our  steps,  or  march  on  to  Mongrelism,  social 
anarchy,  and  the  total  ruin  of  our  country  ? 

THB  DAT-BOOK,  therefore,  demands  the  restoration  of  the  "Union  as  it  was," — a 
Union  of  co-equal  States  upon  the  white  basis — as  the  only  hope,  and  the  only  means  pos 
sible  under  heaven  for  saving  the  grand  ideas  of  1776 — the  fundamental  principles  of 
American  liberty — and  if  the  real  friends  of  freedom,  and  the  earnest  believers  in  that 
sacred  and  glorious  cause  in  which  the  men  of  the  Revolution  offered  up  their  lives,  will 
now  labor  to  expose  the  ignorance,  delusion  and  treason  of  the  Mongrel  party,  it  will 
succeed,  and  the  white  Republic  of  Washington  be  restored  again  in  all  its  original 
beneficence  and  granduer. 

THE  DAT-BOOK  will,  however,  hereafter  be  more  than  ever  devoted  to  all  the  varied 
purposes  of  a  news  paper.  Concious  that  it  reaches  thousands  of  families  who  take  no  other 
journal,  beyond  perhaps  their  local  paper,  it  will  continue  and  improve  its  "  NEWS  or  THE 
WEEK"  Summary,  so  as  to  present  a  transcript  of  the  World's  events  in  each  issue." 
Its  "FAMILT  DEPARTMENT"  will  embrace  the  best  original  and  selected  stories.  Its 
"  AGRICULTURAL  DEPARTMENT  "  will  be  fully  sustained,  and  being  the  only  paper  of  its 
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plete  Reports  of  the  NEW  YORK  and  ALBANT  CATTLE  MARKETS;  GRAIN,  PROVISION 
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OPINIONS  OF  THE  PBESS. 

^.  .  .». 


THE  NEW  YOEK  DAY-BOOK. — Perhaps  there  is  no  paper  in  the  country  that  has 
Labored  so  hard  during  the  last  three  years  in  the  cause  of  true  Democracy  as  THE 
tfEW  YOEK  DAT-BOOK.  Truthful,  bold,  outspoken,  it  has  never  hesitated  to  call  the 
Abolition  miscegen  crew  by  their  proper  names.  It  has  always  opposed  and  de 
nounced  the  outrageous  and  disgraceful  fusion  scheme  of  the  policy  men  the 
Democratic  party  is  unfortunately  cursed  with  in  every  State  in  the  Union,  and 
;hough  its  warnings  have  to  a  great  extent  been  unheeded,  its  predictions  have 
always  proved  true.  One  of  the  first  papers  to  be  suppressed  by  the  order  of  the 
departed  Illinois  saint,  it  has  after  all  persecution,  arisen  from  its  ashes,  and  phcenh 
[ike,  is  stronger  and  more  vigorous  to-day  than  ever  before.  As  a  commercial  paper 
THE  DAY-BOOK  stands  at  the  head  of  the  column,  and  its  stories  and  anecdotes  ar< 
of  a  high  order.  Our  advice  to  Democrats  of  the  Old  School,  who  desire  a  paper  : 
that  will  please  them,  is  to  subscribe  at  once  for  THE  DAY-BOOK. — [Delphis  (Ind. ; 
Times. 

THE  NEW  YOEK  DAY-BOOK.  — This  sterling  publication  comes  to  us  regularly,  and l 
has  come  to  be  regarded  by  us  as  a  desideratum  in  our  sanctum.   The  Editor,  Dr. 
Tyau  Evrie,  is  one  of  the  ablest  as  well  as  one  of  the  boldest  political  writers  of  whors 
we  have  any  knowledge.    He  designates  things  by  their  right  names,  and  dares  t:  , 
beard  the  lion  in  his  den.      When  wo  first  became  a  reader  of  THE  DAY-BOOK,  year?  ' 
ago,  we  were  astonished  at  the  audacity  (as  we  then  viewed  the  subject)  of  the  pc    i 
sitions  assumed  hi  its  columns  on  the  question  of  "  slavery."  It  fearlessly  promu    '' 
gated  the  doctrine  that  the  social  subordination,  miscalled  slavery,  of  the  negro  i .  '•• 
America,  was  his  normal  condition,  a  position  in  society  exactly  suited  to  his  condi 
tion,  capacity  and  wants ;  that  his  relation  to  the  white  or  superior  race  was  one  die- 1 
tated  and  shaped  by  Him  who  planned  our  being,  and  governs  the  destinies  of  na 
tions  in  accordance  with  the  enlightenment  thereof,  and  their  conformity  to  His 
laws ;  and  that  to  interfere  with  this- relation  was  an  innovation  upon  His  wisdom, 
and  would  entail  untold  disaster  upon  both  races.  All  this  we  have  verified  during 
'10  past  five  years.    Indeed,  the  present  editor  of  THE  DAY-BOOK,  in  commenting  j 


pon  a  correspondence  written  by  ourself  in  185G,  for  that  paper,  predicted  in  a 
apposed  contingency,  very  nearly  the  same  character  of  a  war,  together  with  its  j 
esults,  as  has  disgraced  the  American  name  during  the  first  half  of  this  decade.  ] 

THE  DAY-BOOK  was,  of  course,  under  the  ban  during  the  war,  as  all  papers  and  all  • 

persons  were,  who  were  possessed  of  the  manhood  and  honesty  to  say  that  black  ; 

,vas  not  white.     It  is  now,  however,  out  in  all  its  wonted  vigor,  pouring  huge  vol- ! 

leys  of  reason  and  common  sense  into  the  ranks  of  disunion  Abolitionism. 

[Lafayette  (Oregon)  Courier. 


ANTI-ABOLIJTION  TRACTS. 

For  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  the  Abolitionists  have  deluged  the  country  with  innumera 
ble  books,  pamphlets  and  tracts,  inculcating  their  false  and  pernicious  doctrines.  Little  or 
nothing  has  ever  been  done  in  the  same  way  towards  counteracting  their  influence.  Thou 
sands  now  feel  that  such  publications  are  indispensably  necessary.  In  order  to  supply  what 
it  is  believed  is  a  wide-felt  want,  the  undersigned  have  determined  to  issue  a  series  of  "Anti- 
Abolition  Tracts,"  embracing  a  concise  discussion  of  current  political  issues,  in  such  a  cheap 
and  popular  form,  and  at  such  a  merely  nominal  price  for  large  quantities,  as  ought  to  secure 
for  them  a  very  extensive  circulation.  Tho  following  numbers  of  these  Tracts  have  been 
issued : 

No.  1.— ABOLITION  IS  NATIONAL  DEATH ;  or,  The  Attempt  to  Equal 
ize  Races,  the  Destruction  of  Society.    Pp.  32.    Price  10  Cents. 

The  object  of  this  Tract  is  to  show  to  the  deluded  victims  of  the  Abolition  theory,  that, 
could  it  be  reduced  to  practice,  it  must  result  in  social  disintegration  and  national  death. 


No,  2.— FREE  NEGROISM ;  or,  Results  of  Emancipation  in  the  North  and 
the  West  India  Islands ;  with  Statistics  of  the  Decay  of  Commerce,  Idle 
ness  of  the  Negro,  his  Return  to  Savagism,  and  the-  Effect  of  Emancipa 
tion  upon  the  Farming-,  Mechanical  and  Laboring-  Classes.  Price  10  Cts. 
Pp.  32. 

This  is  a  brief  history  of  the  Results  of  Emancipation,  showing  its  wretched  and  miserable 
failure,  and  that  Negro  Freedom  is  simply  a  tax  upon  White  Labor.  The  facts  in  relation  to 
the  real  condition  of  the  Freed  Negroes  in  Hayti,  Jamaica,  &c.,  have  been  carefully  sup 
pressed  by  the  Abolition  papers,  but  they  ought  to  be  laid  before  the  public,  so  that  the  evils 
which  now  afflict  Mexico,  Hayti  and  all  countries  where  the  Negro-equalizing  doctrines  have 
been  tried,  may  be  known  and  understood. 


No.  3— THE  ABOLITION  CONSPIRACY ;  or,  a  Ten  Years'  Record  of  the 
"Republican"  Party.    Price  10  Cents.    Pp.  32. 

This  Tract  embraces  a  collection  of  extracts  from  the  speeches  and  writings  of  William 
Lloyd  Garrison,  Wendell  Phillips,  Abraham  Lincoln,  William  H.  Seward,  S.  P.  Chase,  Horace 
Greeley,  John  P.  Hale,  and  many  others,  giving  the  origin  and  object  of  the  Republican 
Party  and  the  Helper  Programme,  with  the  sixty-eight  Congressional  endorsers,  &c. 


No.  4.— THE  NEGRO'S  PLACE  IN  NATURE.    A  Paper  read  before  the) 
London  Anthropological  Society.    By  Dr.  James  Hunt,  President  of  the 
Society.    Octavo,  32  pp.    Price  10  Cents. 
This  is  a  scientific  exposition,  in  a  popular  form,  of  the  Negro's  position  in  the  scale  of 

creation,  without  any  reference  to  political  or  party  questions.     It  is  an  admirable  Tract  to 

place  in  the  hands  of  "  Republicans  "  to. start  them  on  the  way  "  to  get  a  knowledge  of  the 

truth." 

No.  5.— THE  SIX  SPECIES  OF  MEN.— With  Cuts  representing  the  Types  1 
of  the  Caucasian,  Ilong-ol,  Malay,  American  Indian,  Esquimaux,  and  j 
Negro.    Octavo,  32  pp.    Price  10  Cents. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  important  Tracts  in  the  series,  as  it  presents,  in  popular  form,  the  I 

radical  and  organic  differences  between  the  several  races  or  species  of  men,  as  well  as  the  j 

fundamental  laws  which  govern  all  animate  creation.    Some  of  the  objections  to  the  doctrine  j 

of  distinct  species  of  men  are  also  noticed. 


***  These  Tracts  are  sent,  postage  paid,  for  ten  cents  single  copies,  or  one  dollar  per  j 
dozen  ;  or  five  dollars  per  hundred,  by  express.  Democratic  Committees,  Associations,  j 
&c.,  ordering  one  thousand  c.t  a  time,  will  be  furnished  them  at  exactly  cost  price. 

VAN  EVRIE,  HORTON  &  CO.,  Publish, 

162  Nassau  Street,  New  York. 

g^tP  Agents  Wanted  to  sell  the  above,  and  all  our  Publications. 


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